Bigger Boys and Stolen Sweethearts
by Nautical Paramour
Summary: Hermione and Marcus form a friendship that grows into more over the years...or at least that's what Hermione thinks! Can their friendship survive when Marcus thinks Hermione has moved on to bigger and better things? COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey babes! Here is my next submission for Marcus May - it's going to be a longer multi-chapter and I really hope that you all will enjoy it! The title came from the song Bigger Boys and Stolen Sweethearts by the Arctic Monkeys. You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, answer questions and post story updates.

Please let me know what you thought of chapter one and be on the lookout for chapter two soon!

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Marcus Flint was one of the largest people in Hogwarts, despite being only a fifth year. Despite being one of the youngest people in his year - his August 28th birthday had just barely made the cut off - he stood at least a head taller than most of his classmates. He was lean and broad and covered in muscle most teenage boys wouldn't gain until much later in their lives, but that was the body type his father had given him.

His size, when paired with his relative skill on a broomstick, made him focus most of his attentions on play Quidditch, leading his home team to the Quidditch Cup for two years, and there was talk of him making captain in the following year.

One might think that all this put together would mean that Marcus Flint was a popular boy. One would be wrong. Instead, Marcus Flint was hideously lonely, his classmates finding little use for him off of the pitch and whispering rude things about his size and his _teeth_ behind his back. Troll, they called him. They used his poor marks as further _proof_ that he must have some troll blood in him.

Marcus desperately wanted to prove them all wrong, and being that this was his OWL year, he had the perfect opportunity. He was determined that he would pass them all. He was only taking four of them! How hard could it be? Wanting to pass his exams, though, meant that while the rest of his classmates were chatting happily in the Great Hall during lunch, he'd just grabbed a sandwhich off the table, and headed off to the library alone. He was sure that no one else would be there, and he could get some work done for a change, without the distractions that someone might be _laughing_ at him to distract.

Only, the library wasn't empty. He'd trudged back towards the study tables, determined to get a jump on his Charms essay, only to find a little _girl_ occupying what should have been a quiet place to work. And worse, she was _crying._

He watched from the edges, not really sure what to do, while she took the smallest little bite from the sandwhich she must have snagged from the Great Hall as well, before wiping the tears from her cheeks. She was far too engrossed in the book in front of her - _Hogwarts, A History_ from the look of it - to take any notice of the large boy watching her.

Marcus rocked back and forth on his feet, wondering if he should just sneak out of the room, seeing as she hadn't seen him yet. He could head back to his common room, or head off to his next class and she would never even notice.

Bur then he looked at her. Really _looked_ at her. She had bushy brown hair that seemed to have a life of it's own, and a dainty little frame, with a little slightly upturned nose. She looked so _tiny_ in the empty library, and even worse, she looked so alone. In that moment, despite their differences, Marcus could sense a kindred spirit. Here was a girl that had no other friends, and was alone, just the same as he was, and, well...maybe they could be each other's friends.

The scrape of the chair being pulled back from the table certainly caught her attention, and he could see how on edge she looked when he sat down across the table from her, pulling his sandwich out of his bag. Her face was transformed with a snarl, making her look like an angry little kitten, when she spoke to him. "What do you want? Come to call me mudblood, too?"

Marcus was taken aback, with her using a word like that so casually. Sure, his family didn't really care for muggleborns, but it wasn't like they went around using that word willy nilly, and he was _sure_ that his mum would wash his mouth out with soap if she heard him use it. Though, his father might give him a congratulatory pat on the back. "No." He said, simply, hoping that she didn't send him away.

She looked surprised. "But you're a Slytherin. Don't you all hate muggleborns?" She asked finally, all traces of her earlier tears gone and replaced with curiosity.

He shrugged his shoulders. He didn't really think that he _hated_ any muggleborns, mostly on account of him not knowing any. Marucs looked at her uniform - she was a Gryffindor, which seemed a little bit obvious to him at this point, but he thought that they were all about taking care of their own. So what was she doing hiding her in the library eating her lunch, then? "Why are you here in the library instead of in the Great Hall?"

The brunette nibbled her lower lip so hard that Marcus thought she might bleed. Finally, she gave a big sigh, and decided to answer him. "I don't have any friends in my house. I've never really had friends, actually, because well, the other children at my old school could always tell that I was a bit odd, what with my magic and all, but I had had such hopes that things would be different here." Her lower lip stuck out and wobbled a bit, and suddenly she was on the verge of tears again. "But I guess I am just destined to be the odd one out!"

Marcus could sympathize with her feelings. He supposed that he felt quite the same way too. He'd hoped that when he'd set a new record for points scored in a Quidditch match during his third year, that perhaps the other Slytherins would see him as someone who shouldn't be ignored, but it hadn't come to fruition. He wasn't sure what to say to her, not well versed in comforting crying girls of any age, and instead took a bite out of his own sandwich.

"What are you doing in the library, then?" She asked, her chin jutting outwards at him, her tone sounding rather accusatory, though Marcus couldn't blame her seeing as he had asked her the same question.

He looked at her, while he tried to decide how to answer the question. He thought about explaining about how he was wanted to do well on the OWLs, but he also didn't want to give her an edge over him. What if he failed miserably at his OWLs, and then everyone laughed at him. He would just about die from embarrassment. No, instead, he would just be honest with her, and maybe even...build a bit of a rapport with the first year. "I don't have any friends in my house either."

"Really?" The question burst out of her, as though she had no filter. "But you play Quidditch! Bit of an odd sport if you ask me...I don't see what's so great about it, but everyone here seems to go bananas over it."

Marcus tried to hide his smile when she finished. Did she not realize that she could have greatly offended him just then? Apparently not. "Yeah, well, Quidditch is about all I'm good for to most people in this school." He explained, with a shrug of his shoulders. "I feel at a disadvantage. You must know a bit about me, but I know almost nothing about you. What's your name?"

He watched as she squared her shoulders, before extending her arm across the table. "Hermione Granger. First year." Marcus stared at her hand for a moment, but then finally took it. "But I'm going to be turning twelve in a week." She added quickly, once they'd dropped hands.

Marcus couldn't stop the smirk from his face at that. He wondered if she was worried about impressing him, about seeming older, so he wouldn't feel upset about her being a little kid still. "I'm Marcus, Marcus Flint. Fifth year, but I just turned fifteen before school started." He said, looking back down at his half-eaten sandwich. He wasn't entirely sure what to do now that he and Hermione were talking to one another. He'd never had someone to chat with, let alone a _girl_.

Instead, he pulled out his Charms book, and a bit of parchment, still wanting to get a little bit of work done, if he was going to be in the library, desk mate or not. Seeing the books, though, Hermione _lit up_. It seemed that she was incapable of not saying whatever it was that spilled into her head at any given moment. "Oh, it's your OWL year. You must be really busy wanting to study for them all. Which ones are you taking?"

"Charms, Potions, Herbology and Transfiguration." Marcus said, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck. Part of him expected her to laugh at him for trying for so many OWLs, when so many of his classmates were surprised that he managed to get this far in his schooling at all, troll blood and all.

"What, only four?" Hermione asked, horror clear on her face. "I plan to get _at least_ nine OWLS." She said confidently. Marcus wondered if it was the kind of confidence that only a first year could have - after all, she hadn't even had a proper exam yet - or if it was just an unshakable confidence in her own intelligence.

"Oi, it's not _that_ easy, pipsqueak." He said, crossing his large arms across his body.

Hermione rolled her eyes at him _and_ his nickname. "I never said it was going to be easy, you _brute_. But it's already obvious that I am the best in most of my classes. I studied all over the summer and I can already cast most spells, unlike my classmates." She said proudly. It seemed that it was just innate confidence in her own abilities. Marcus wondered what that might feel like, but he supposed it was just like how he _knew_ that he could score in Quidditch. Maybe Hermione just _knew_ that she would be able to perform spells. That would be nice, he decided.

"Oh really?" He finally asked, enjoying the way that she got a bit angry, so desperate to prove herself whenever he challenged her. "Prove it then."

"Fine!" Hermione said, pulling out her wand, sending it at his book. "Wingardium Leviosa!" She flicked her wand towards his sandwich, and had it floating higher and higher in the air and out of his reach. He stared at it, shocked, until he realized what was happening and snatched it out of the air. Her laughter was like a tinkling bell, and quite infectious. Despite his best efforts, Marcus started to laugh along with her.

"Alright, fair point." Marcus said, taking another bite of the sandwich, once it was safely back in his hands. "That was pretty good work for a first year." He admitted, impressed with her ability. When he thought back to first year, he was pretty sure that it hadn't been until midterms that he'd finally gotten that charm to work consistently.

"Thanks." She responded, a bright blush on her cheeks, before looking down at the table. It was odd the way that her mood suddenly dropped. "None of my classmates seem to think it's that great. Professor Snape called me an insufferable know-it-all, and well, even some of the other Gryffindors have been quite rude to me, calling me a show off, even though I was getting house points."

Marcus gave a little noise of agreement, knowing that Professor Snape could be harsh - even with his bias for Slytherin students. "Well, I think it's alright." He said, not used to giving praise to other people. It seemed to brighten the girl's mood anyway.

"Say Marcus?" She asked cautiously, her brown eyes trailing up to his face. "Does this mean that you and I are friends?" She asked, gesturing towards the space between the two of them.

He wasn't really sure what to say. On the one hand, he thought it was pretty pathetic that his only _real_ friend was an eleven - nearly twelve! - year old girl, and not someone his own age or really... _anything_ in common with him. But the other part of him thought that any friend was better than no friends. "Yeah, I guess so, pipsqueak. I'll be your friend." He was surprised by how warm he felt saying the words. This was going to be a good thing.

"Alright! Maybe I'll see you here again for lunch tomorrow?" She asked, gathering up her book bag, before looking down at the watch on her tiny little wrist. "I've got to run to transfiguration, Marcus. See you later!"

Without waiting for him to say goodbye, she was leaving the library, her bushy hair flying behind her. Marcus watched the little whirlwind girl leave, wondering what had just happened. He wasn't sure how, but he was pretty positive that Hermione Granger was going to change his life.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! Wow, I seriously did not expect this kind of response, but I suppose it just goes to show how thirsty we all are for more Marcus! As you may know, ffnet is being a little funny right now and not sending out alerts. I am not updating my other two stories until it's resolved, but...you know I couldn't leave y'all hanging since it's Marcus May! You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.

Please let me know what you thought of chapter two and be on the lookout for chapter three soon!

 **p.s. Just reposting so that the alert goes out!**

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Becoming friends with a first year Gryffindor _girl_ was different than Marcus would have expected. He didn't think that he would like her as much as he did, because really, what did they have in common? Almost nothing beyond their friendless status in the school. She was everything that he wasn't - talkative, smart, little. It was surprising that she was able to sweep into his routine so easily, not upsetting it one bit, but rather feeling as though she'd fit there all the time.

They couldn't eat together in the Great Hall - Marcus could only imagine the kind of outrage he would receive if he tried to invite a muggleborn to the Slytherin table, and he didn't want to think about the beating he was sure to receive if he sat with her at Gryffindor. Not to mention that he didn't want his friendship to make her more of an outcast than she already was. That was another odd thing about having a friend...putting their feelings before his own. It went totally against his typical selfish nature.

They would eat together in the library, instead, a tiny little corner just their own, where they could talk about what was going on in their lives, though it normally didn't stray far from academics. It seemed that Hermione was living up to her promise that she was the best in her year, and he often wondered if there was anything that she _wasn't_ good at. Still, he wouldn't so no to hear assistance on essays or finding reference material for his classes. "I won't do the work for you, but I could look over it for grammatical errors." She said one day, after seeing the state of his spelling on a potions essay. "Professor Snape _hates_ errors."

Marcus had been delighted to hear that there was something that she wasn't perfect at, and even more so that it was flying. "I just don't understand why anyone wants to get so high up off the ground with just a stick between their legs!" She'd huffed at him, before telling him all about how muggles always imagined witches flying on broomsticks in the dark of night.

He'd hoped that it would be something that he could help _her_ with, the way that she helped with his essays. That was what friends were supposed to do, right? Do nice things for one another. Help each other out. But, to his disappointment, when he made the offer, she told him that she was trying to get Madame Hooch to let her drop the class, insisting that she would never need to know how to fly. Marcus thought that was rather silly, but he didn't say anything to her, not wanting to start a fight.

For her birthday, Hermione's mother had sent her four chocolate cupcakes to share with her friends, and she hated the way that she shoulders slumped when she read the note. He knew that she was feeling badly that she didn't have more friends to share them with, well more than him. He conjured a candle - though it did end up looking a bit wonky and the blue color he wanted had ended up looking more green - and had her blow it out, though he wouldn't go as far to sing happy birthday.

That had brightened her mood a bit, taking the candle out and setting it aside, before digging into her own cupcake while he had his own. He watched her eyeing the other two cupcakes guiltily, and ended up eating both of them, even though it made his stomach ache. He just wanted her to be happy on her birthday. Marcus decided it was nice to celebrate her birthday, just the two of them, because it meant he didn't have to be embarrassed to give her the present he'd gotten her. Personally, he thought it was a bit lame - just a packet of sugar quills from Honeyduke's - though he thought she would like them based on the way that she was always chewing on the end of her quills. That was the first day that she'd given him a hug, her little arms barely wrapping around his middle, making him blush six shades of red, though he wasn't entirely sure why.

Being Hermione's friend was pretty great, he decided, but he now suspected that things were going to change. The _whole_ school had been buzzing after hearing how Hermione, Potter and Weasley had taken on a mountain troll and _won_ after Professor Quirrell had said it got into the building. The worst was hearing that Hermione had _lied_ to protect those two oafs, saying that she went thinking that she could take the troll on her own. There was no way the Hermione he knew would do that.

It wasn't difficult to realize what was going to happen now. Hermione was suddenly friends with two people who were her own age and in her own house. Marcus could see the writing on the wall, and he knew that this meant that Hermione wouldn't have any more time for him, and she wasn't going to be his friend any more either. He should have known that it was too good to be true for him to think he actually wouldn't be too lonely anymore.

He just wished that he never would have become friends with Hermione, on account of him knowing how great it was to be her friend now. He was sure it was going to be so much worse to go back to the boring nothingness of the previous four years.

It was making him particularly surly, making even his Slytherin teammates a bit on edge how hard he went after the quaffle in practice, even knocking Cassius off of his broom after one particularly nasty collision. He continued to go to the library for lunches, even though Hermione didn't show up for a week. _That_ put him in even a nastier mood. He hated that she didn't even have the decency to tell him that she wouldn't be showing up. Still, he kept going out of hope that she would show up, and if not, he could at least get some work done on his essays.

A week after what he was calling the troll incident, Hermione finally showed up to the library for lunch, a little whirlwind of energy swirling in an disturbing him. He watched as she chattered and flittered about, pulling out her own homework and lunch, with his arms folded over his chest in annoyance. He knew that he was in a bad mood, and normally he would find her behavior kind of cute, but now he was just upset.

Finally, she looked up at him, and saw the dark look in his blue eyes, the frown on his face, his defensive posture. "Marcus, is everything alright?" She asked, concern evident on her face, her head cocked to the side in confusion.

He continued to stare at her, wondering how she could just ask that, as if she didn't know what she'd done. That she'd been ignoring him for days, cast aside for friends who were _better_ and shiny and new. "You've been a bit busy lately, haven't you?" He said plainly, hoping that the hurt he was feeling didn't bleed into his voice.

Hermione scrunched up her nose. "Yes, if you must know, I've received heaps of detentions from Professor McGonagall for going after that troll, and I have been using every spare minute I have to keep on top of my homework." She ran her fingers through the ends of her bushy hair. "But, I just served my last one, which means I am free to return to my usual schedule."

He couldn't stop the snort of derision at her words. Why was she keeping up the charade when it was just them? "Please, Hermione. We both know that you didn't go after that troll."

"Yes I did. I was foolish and I thought I could take it on my own. But I was wrong." She said again, in a way that was so practiced he knew it was a lie. Only liars kept saying the _same exact words_ over and over again.

"Oh, quite lying to cover for them, Hermione." He said, throwing his hands up in the air. He was annoyed with her, annoyed that he was being presented with proof that she was going to move on from him. "Why are you covering for them anyway? I thought you hated Weasley."

Hermione nibbled her lower lip, looking at him with such a helplessness. "Alright, you win. Weasley was the reason I was in the bathroom in the first place...he made me cry, and I'd been in the bathroom all afternoon crying because he hurt my feelings. I didn't know there was a mountain troll inside Hogwarts until I was trapped in the lavatory with it."

His snarled at her. "So why would you cover for them then?" It didn't make any sense to him that Hermione should cover for someone who made her miserable. Did they have something on her, some kind of blackmail?

"Because they saved me, okay?" Hermione burst out, pressing her hands into her face. "They saved me and if they hadn't come to get me, I would be toast right now. So, it only seemed right that I should lie to cover for them."

She looked so conflicted, but Marcus still wasn't sure that he entirely understood her reasoning. Sure, they might have protected her from the troll, but if it hadn't been for Potter and Weasley, she wouldn't have had a reason to be in that lavatory in the first place! It seemed as if they were only righting their own wrong. His shoulders slumped, though. "I suppose this means...that you all are friends now."

Hermione blushed and looked at him cautiously. "Well, yes, I suppose that...Harry, Ron and I could become friends. I've only just started _really_ talking to them, though." She was nervous, clearly. "So I suppose only time will tell what happens."

That did little to make Marcus feel better. He didn't like the idea of Hermione getting to know either of the boys better, because it only meant one thing. Less time for him. And yes, he knew that he was being a bit greedy, and a bit selfish, but it was her _fault_ in the first place for showing him how nice it could be to have a friend. "I suppose you won't have much need for _me_ anymore then." He said gruffly, staring down at the parchment in front of him, refusing make eye contact with her. He didn't want to see her _pity_.

"Marcus…" Hermione said softly, only to sigh when he still wouldn't meet her gaze. "Marcus, are you _jealous_?" She asked cautiously, only to notice him tense up a bit. "Just because I'm friends with Harry and Ron doesn't mean that I have to _stop_ being friends with you. I'll always be your friend, Marcus Flint."

It was a childish promise, he knew, and not really one that he could actually hold her to, but it did put a little ember of hope deep in his belly. He looked up at her finally, seeing her looking at him with concern and a bit of wonder. "D'you really mean that?" He asked, the words pouring out of his mouth in a jumble of excitement.

Hermione nodded eagerly. "Of course I do, you big _brute_." She teased, smiling broadly when she saw him crack a smile as well. "I'm sorry that I made you think otherwise. I should have told you about the detention, and that I wouldn't be able to come for lunch."

"Yeah." He agreed with her, knowing that it would have been nice for her to tell him that she wouldn't be showing up. "But I shouldn't have assumed the worst of you either. That you'd be trying to jump ship at the first opportunity."

Hermione squeezed his hand across the table and gave him a fond smile. He decided then that it was good to have a friend, even if it only lasted for a bit. The good would definitely outweigh the bad.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! I am so glad you all are enjoying Marcus May and how fluffy Marcus is. He is such a big softie, just figuring things out. This is the last part of year one. I don't know if I've told you already, but the vast majority of the story is going to take place in year four. You can follow me over on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions!

Please let me know what you thought of chapter three and be on the lookout for chapter four soon!

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Hermione Granger never would have imagined how her first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was going to end when she started there. Of course, she'd been excited to learn about magic, of which she'd learned plenty, but she never would have expected to land herself in the hospital wing.

It was nothing serious, of course, just wanting to keep her overnight for observation, after going with Harry and Ron after the Philosopher's Stone. She was faring _much_ better than Ron who still laid unconscious in another bed from being struck by a giant chess piece, or Harry who was still unconscious for some unknown reason. She was glad that her friend had protected the stone, but at the same time, she wished that he would have woken up.

For her part, Hermione had just solved a logic puzzle, taking a potion that would send her back to the beginning, allowing Harry to move forward, after Professor Snape, or so they'd thought. She found out that it had actually been Professor Quirrell after the stone, which You-Know-Who on the back of his head. The thought of it gave her the shivers.

She smiled, looking over at the two boys who had become her friends in the most unlikely of ways. When she'd started Hogwarts, she'd been so excited to meet other people like her, other witches, and she hoped that she might finally make friends. Loads of friends, she'd thought. Only, that hadn't been how it had happened. In this world she was a muggleborn, an oddity, who was still much too eager to show off her intelligence that it rubbed people the wrong way. Even Harry and Ron had found her pushy and overbearing until she'd covered for them with the troll, and they'd come around eventually.

But, to her surprise, her first friend had actually been fifth year _Slytherin_ Quidditch player, Marcus Flint. If you compared them side by side, Hermione didn't think that it was possible for them to be _more_ different, but in a weird way, their friendship worked, blossoming over months in the library when Marcus tried to study furiously for his OWLs, or out on the pitch, when Marcus took time to try and teach her how to fly.

It hadn't worked...she was still rubbish at flying, but she was at least _passable_ and it had formed a new bond of trust between the two of them.

After befriending Harry and Ron, it was true that she didn't have _as_ _much_ time to spend with Marcus had she had before, but it was only just that what she was working on with her other two friends was so _important_. It involved You-Know-Who, after all, and a break-in at Gringotts, and a three headed dog called _Fluffy_. It wasn't that Marcus _wasn't_ important, just that she couldn't devote all of her time to him. She was sure that he wouldn't expect her to spend all of her time with him either, seeing as he probably had friends of his own or Quidditch practice to keep him occupied. He wouldn't want to spend all of his time with _her,_ surely.

Harry and Ron didn't understand her friendship with him either. They were always saying rude things about him, like he was half-troll, which made Hermione bristle. She didn't think that Marcus looked like a troll. Sure, his teeth were a little...well, her parents would certainly have a lot to say about them, but her's weren't perfect either. But she actually thought he might be a bit good looking if he gave it half a thought. He had the most lovely blue eyes, that always had Hermione feeling a little envious, comparing them to her muddy brown ones.

"Pipsqueak?" A whispered voice came out from behind the curtain, breaking her from her thoughts.

Hermione grinned. Of course, when she was deep in thoughts about Marcus, he would show up. "Over here." She whispered back, waiting for him to poke his head around. It was late, after curfew she was sure, and she didn't want him to get in trouble for visiting her.

When he came around and saw her looking perfectly alright, he sighed, as though he had been terribly worried about her. His hands flexed, looking rather like he might want to hug her, but didn't think that he would be allowed to do so. Instead, he settled for sitting on the edge of her bed, his large frame filling the empty space. "Hermione, are you alright? The whole school has been buzzing over what happened. I heard you'd been poisoned."

"I'm fine, Marcus." Hermione responded with a big smile. "I wasn't poisoned, but I could have been. We found out that...someone was going after the philosopher's stone, and we tried to go after them, only the professors had created all these...obstacles, and well, I guess I got Professor Snape's. It was a logic puzzle and you had to pick the correct potion to drink." She explained, not wanting her friend to worry.

"Wow, glad I wasn't there. I never would have been able to figure them out." He said, running his hand through his black hair. "So, you picked the correct one, then?"

Hermione bit her lower lip. "Well sort of. I mean, there was one that sent you forward and one that sent you back." Her eyes darted over to Harry's bed. "I made Harry drink the one to send you forward, and I took the one that sent you back. But I wasn't poisoned."

Marcus looked over her, seeing that she looked rather frail lying in the bed, but glad to learn that...while she was in danger, she was safe in the end. "I hate the way that those other two are always getting you in dangerous situations." He said, darkly, glaring at the two boys not far away, even if they didn't know that he was upset about them. "You never got hurt like this before you started hanging out with them."

She reached across the bed and grabbed his large hand in between her two smaller ones. "I wasn't in any danger." She tried, only to have him glare back at her, clearly not believing what she said. Her shoulders dropped. "Alright, well, I guess I was in a little danger...but, I'm perfectly safe now. And it wasn't Harry's fault, it was...You-Know-Who." She whispered.

He had a physical reaction to that, visibly flinching. "You-Know-Who is _dead_ , Hermione, and his followers are long gone, in Azkaban." Marcus had never told her about his father's affiliations with You-Know-Who, knowing that she was a muggleborn. Marcus never thought any less of her, hell, she was _probably_ smarter than he was, and three years younger. But, he remembered what it had been like, during the war...he'd only been a few years old, but he would never forget what it had been like.

For a moment, Hermione looked like he might want to argue with her about what she'd said, before she thought better of it. "How did your OWLs go, Marcus?" She'd felt a bit badly that she hadn't been able to wish him luck on his Charms practical, knowing that that was the one he was most concerned over.

Marcus ran his hand over the back of his neck, a telltale sign that he was nervous. "I think it went well, actually. I've never studied so much in my life, but, I guess I won't know until I get the results this summer." It was hard waiting, wanting to know what was going to happen. Marcus was normally used to thinking that he'd failed everything, so he never had much to look forward too, but now the niggling feeling of hope was...awful.

"I'm sure you did well, Marcus." Hermione whispered back to him. "I know how hard you worked this year, and it's just about a guarantee that the hard work will pay off." That was something that her muggle parents had taught her, but she was only just now beginning to wonder if perhaps that _wasn't_ the way that the magic world worked. But she also knew that sometimes you had to pretend to be confident, even if you weren't. That was something that Marcus would need to learn, too.

Before she could think about it much more, Hermione gave out a great big yawn. Marcus scowled at himself. "I'm sorry for keeping you up, yammering about OWLs, when you should be resting." He said with a blush.

Hermione furiously shook her head back and forth. "No apologies, you big brute. I'm glad that you came to check on me." She teased with a cautious smile. It was what true friends would do. "Thank you so much for visiting." It really did warm her heart to know that he came to check on her when he really didn't have to. There had been one time, a ways after Yule, that she'd come down with the flu, and Madame Pomfrey had kept her overnight since it was her first time taking Pepperup Potion. Harry and Ron didn't stop by.

Marcus stood, and wished her goodnight, before hesitating for a moment. Hermione wondered if he didn't quite want to leave yet, but she was seriously going to fall asleep as soon as he left the Hospital Wing.

Once he was gone, Hermione lay back down in the bed. As her head hit the pillow, she heard someone padding over to her bedside. Rolling over, Hermione was surprised to see Harry standing there. "Hermione? Was that Flint?" He whispered to her.

Hermione sighed, before sitting up so that she could talk to her bespeckled friend properly. "Yes, it was Marcus." She said simply. She didn't really understand what Harry was after by asking. Who cared if Marcus came to check in on her?

"So you two are _really_ friends?" Harry asked, a hint of disappointment in his voice.

She felt a bit exasperated. "Yes, he really is my friend. Why? Don't you think that I can have other friends besides you? You have other friends, like Dean and Seamus." She pointed out. She didn't quite see why her life should be solely focused on Harry and Ron, especially when most of the time they spent was with her looking over their homework.

"Well, Hermione, he's just so mean!" Harry said, with a little scowl on his face. Hermione huffed a little bit, making Harry start arguing again right away. "No, Hermione, I've played against him on the Quidditch pitch and he is a menace. And, Ron agrees with me."

She wanted to roll her eyes at him, but refrained, knowing it wouldn't help her argument. "Harry, you and Ron don't know Marcus like I do. Is he a little bit rough around the edges? Of course. But you and Ron aren't perfect either. And, he is a really good friend to _me_. So that's what counts...he's a really big softie underneath!" Harry gave her an incredulous look. "No, really. Would a menace really come visit me in the hospital wing?"

Harry couldn't argue with that, but he was still grappling with Hermione's friendship. "Then why did he sneak in here in the middle of the night?"

"Maybe because he knew that you would react like this?" She countered. Really, Hermione was much too tired to be having this conversation and she just wanted to go to sleep. "Listen, I am not going to stop being friends with Marcus just because you and Ron think he is an aggressive Quidditch player...he was my friend first, and I really like spending time with him. So, is this going to be a problem?"

Although it would hurt to end her friendship with Harry and Ron, she wasn't going to let them dictate her life. It wasn't as though she had many friends, but it was something that she felt very strongly about. Waiting with bated breath, Hermione couldn't deny the rush of relief she felt when Harry shook his head no. "Of course it won't be a problem, Mione."

"Alright then." She said happily, before bossing him back to bed. "Go on back to your own bed. It will be the end of the year feast tomorrow and you want to be well rested." Once she was alone, Hermione reflected on her first year. It had gone much, much differently than she would have expected, but she didn't think she'd change a single thing.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows after last chapter! Marcus is such a good friend to Hermione isn't he? Now, we will be getting into year two, let's see how these friends get along with one another! You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.

Please let me know what you thought of chapter four and be on the lookout for chapter five soon!

* * *

The summer had seemed to drag on and on for Marcus. He waited for weeks, looking for his OWL results, and it felt like those were never going to show up, but eventually they did. He'd passed all four of them and he'd even managed to sneak in an Exceeds Expectations in Transfiguration, which was a bloody shock seeing as Professor McGonagall made no secret that she hated him. He almost wished that he could be there to see the woman get the results of her students. He wondered what she would think of them...if she'd try and accuse him of cheating.

He'd proudly shown his parents over the dinner table one evening. The Flints ate dinner with each other every night, although it was usually a silent affair, everyone lost in their own world. To his surprise, his mum was actually quite impressed with him. She ever pressed a kiss to his cheek, something he couldn't remember happening in years.

But when she's passed the parchment to his father, the man had scowled at him, and questioned whether he'd imperiused the examiner. At Marcus's vehement denial, his father had just laughed. "Of course not - you wouldn't be able to manage an Unforgivable." It hurt to know that his father didn't expect anything out of him than to be some great oaf.

Marcus was feeling pretty awful about himself that evening when he went to his room. It didn't take long for the idea of writing Hermione to pop into his head. He tried to talk himself out of it a hundred times, worried that she would think he was silly or that she wouldn't want to hear from him, until he finally sent the letter off. Then, he was filled with anxious energy until he saw his owl returning.

To his delight, Hermione had written back, and not just a quick note, but an incredibly long and detailed letter. She was _very_ complimentary about his scores, writing that she just knew his hard work would pay off. But, to his amusement, the letter did not end with discussion of exams. Instead, it was filled with questions about how he was spending his summer and details of her own. He had a huge, goofy grin on his face when he finished reading it.

They'd kept a correspondence through the rest of the summer.

The next thing he had to look forward to was the announcement of who would be the Slytherin Quidditch captain that year. He knew that he was the favorite, but Professor Snape got the final say, and he was always difficult to read. Realistically, he knew that there was a chance that Pucey would get tipped instead, and that the team would probably prefer it, too.

It was early in August when he finally received the news that he was officially Slytherin's Quidditch captain. Two interesting things happened after that.

The first was that he actually got an invitation to hang out with some of the other boys on the squad. Adrian Pucey was a year younger than him, but very popular. To say he jumped at the chance to spend the day at the beach with him, Montague and Bole was an understatement. Only problem was, once he got there, he didn't really know what to do or say. He hoped that he wasn't making a huge fool of himself or being made fun of.

He decided to let his worries go and just try to enjoy himself. To his immense relief, it seemed that the other boys didn't have any ulterior motives, and were more interested in talking about Quidditch and girls, of course. The only negative he got was a pretty serious sunburn, but that was nothing a little burn salve couldn't help with.

The second was that he'd gotten a letter from _Lucius Malfoy_ of all people with a very enticing offer. He wrote that he was a proud Slytherin alum and he himself had played beater when he was a student. He wanted to give back to the team in the form of a donation of new brooms for the whole squad - after all, Slytherins deserved the best. The next paragraph down, he wrote of his son, Draco, who was going to be trying out for the squad that year. Apparently, Draco's heart's desire was to be seeker.

Marcus wasn't too stupid to read between the lines to understand that it was a quid pro quo. Either Draco made seeker or they didn't get the brooms. And he didn't have to be stupid either to know why Malfoy wanted to be seeker...everyone in Hogwarts knew about his little rivalry with Potter. Still, Marcus thought that Malfoy might be suited to another position more...he was a bit tall for a seeker, but he wouldn't argue with the blond boy's heart's desire. After all, lots of people thought he should be a beater rather than a chaser, based on _his_ build.

To be honest, the burly boy actually took a long time to think over it. It felt wrong for him to be bought out for a couple of brooms, but Higgs really wasn't a great seeker, and maybe it was time for some new blood in the team. Besides, he couldn't imagine the riot that would happen if the team found out that he turned down brand new brooms for _everyone_.

He pushed all his conflicting feelings about the brooms out of his head, and he didn't even think about it again until they came across the Gryffindor team on the way to practice. Professor Snape had given him extra practice time to the detriment of the Lions, and Marcus wasn't about to turn down that kind of advantage. To his disappointment, though, it seemed that wherever Harry Potter went, these days, that meant that Hermione wasn't too far behind.

Marcus _had_ told her about being Quidditch captain when they got back to school, but they never talked about the particulars like tryouts or who was going to make the team. And he definitely didn't tell her about the brooms. They no longer ate lunch together in the library, now that they both had friends at their own tables, but they did come up with a schedule where they would meet after classes.

It was easy enough for him to spar back and forth with Oliver Wood - maybe the only other person in Hogwarts who was _quite_ as obsessed with Quidditch as he was - arguing that they had to train their new seeker. And it was a little bit funny to see Potter's face drop when Malfoy stepped out from behind the trio of tall chasers.

But then he heard Weasley (of course it had to be Weasley, whose family was so poor the Weasley twins were still playing on hand me down brooms from their older brothers) ask about the new Nimbuses. Wanting to head off any kind of bragging from Malfoy, he decided to step in. He was the captain after all. "They were a gift from Draco's father."

Immediately, he knew that it was the wrong thing to say, as soon as he heard the little noise of disgust leaving Hermione's throat. "At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to _buy_ their way on." She looked at him with a little hurt look, before directing all of her ire to Malfoy. "They all got on on pure talent." She said triumphantly, sticking him where it hurt.

Marcus knew that he should have known there was a reason that he was keeping the brooms a secret from Hermione. He knew how important integrity was to her, and deep down, he knew that agreeing to take the brooms had been a poor choice _even though_ Malfoy really was a superior seeker than Higgs, and he fit into the Slytherin style of play much better. He should have known that the decision would be viewed negatively. And now he was just having to deal with the fallout.

He barely registered Malfoy sauntering his way over to Hermione, trying to give her what Marcus was sure he thought was a menacing look, but really just ending up looking as if he smelled something bad. "Don't you dare talk about me that way, you _filthy little mudblood!"_

The moment that the blond boy had said it, Marcus was reacting. He was just going to stand there and let Malfoy talk to his friend that way. He grabbed Draco by the back of the robes, and hauled him back away from Hermione. "Oi, don't call her _that_." He growled out, to the surprise of _everyone_ in the clearing.

No one spoke for a moment, until Weasley, hothead that he was, had to insert himself into the situation. "Eat slugs, Malfoy!" He shouted, waving his wand at the boy. Only, his wand was clearly broken and the spell ending up backfiring on himself, hitting the spell caster instead. The first slug that he spat up was enough to send even Marcus's stomach to turning. He could feel his heart clench when he made eye contact with Hermione's teary brown eyes. When he first met her, she hadn't seemed affected by the word, but maybe now...it really did hurt her.

Refocusing on Malfoy, he towered over the second year, and glared at him. He'd show Malfoy not to mess with a _menace_ like him. "Don't you ever talk to her like that again, do you understand, Malfoy?" Marcus asked. "I know you've got some kind of thing going with Potter, but I am not going to tolerate that kind of language on my squad. Leave her out of it."

Pucey put a hand on Marcus's shoulder, getting his attention back from Malfoy, who was shaking like a leaf in his captain's hold. For how much Malfoy pretended like he was some kind of big hot shot, he sure scared easily. "Flint, put him down. You are causing a scene." Pucey hissed into his ear.

Reluctantly, Marcus put the boy down, knowing that he had made a scene. If there was one thing that Slytherins detested, it was having their business thrown out in public like that, and he realized that he'd probably made a big fool of himself. Looking back in the direction where Hermione was, he frowned when he realized that she wasn't even _there_ anymore. Probably run off with Weasley to the matron.

Lucian Bole, one of the beaters on the squad, started snickering, seeing Marcus look longingly in the direction that Hermione had just gone. "Salazar, Flint, what is she, your _girlfriend?_ " He teased, a bit maliciously. Most of the rest of the team joined in the laughter.

Marcus started to deflate, before he fell back into his old habits. They would learn to leave you alone if they didn't get a reaction out of you. He started to laugh along with them and mercifully, no one seemed to notice how forced it sounded. "Don't be daft, Lucian! I just don't want Malfoy getting himself suspended for a silly reason like a girl. You know how the Professors would have reacted." He said confidently.

The rest of the squad seemed to take that seriously, and all nodded while their laughter finally died down. Marcus put his best sneer back on his face while he got back into captain mode. "Alright, enough yammering. Let's get onto the pitch. I've got enough drills to run you lot into the ground."

He watched while the team headed off to towards the pitch, but he held back from them for a while. He noticed Pucey did the same, again, pressing an arm to Marcus's shoulder. "You know, I've seen you with her in the library. Are you sure you aren't interested in that little swot?" He asked.

Marcus wasn't sure if he could trust Adrian, but he decided to try, seeing as that was what friends did, and Adrian was his new friend, right? "She's just my friend. Helped me revise last year." He told the other boy, who gave him a keen look in return, before nodding. They walked off in the direction of the pitch together, not speaking. Marcus could feel his cheeks heating up while he thought about Hermione being his _girlfriend_. Merlin, she was only thirteen years old, and well...that would just be too weird, wouldn't it? She was so young and he definitely didn't think about her in _that_ way.

No, the only way that she was his girlfriend was that she was his friend who happened to be a girl. That was it.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! I can't believe how quickly Marcus May is coming to an end! Never fear, I will keep posting chapters to this after May has ended, though my first priorities will be Red Right Hand and Over the Hills and Far Away. You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions!

Please let me know what you thought of chapter five and be on the lookout for chapter six soon!

* * *

After the year that she'd had previously, Hermione had hoped that second year would be much less eventful. To her vast disappointment, it seemed that in actuality, it was going to be far more dangerous than the year before.

First, Ron's little sister Ginny was starting as a first year, which meant that the trio of friends had an annoying new tagalong. It wouldn't have been so bad if she and Ron didn't fight quite so much - Ron made no secret how annoying he found her - and one of their rows had even gotten Hermione kicked out of the library once for making too much noise. She'd been absolutely gutted to see the look of disappointment on Madame Pince's face. Even worse was that Ginny obviously had a huge crush on Harry, and her longing stares and awkward questions were enough to make Hermione embarrassed on Harry's behalf.

But, Ginny was really the least of her worries. There was some kind of monster that was being released, with the mission of murdering muggleborns like her, and already, Filch's cat had been petrified, though no one was sure why she hadn't just been killed. None of the teachers seemed to know what it was or how to stop it, and the only real information that they had on it was from the eerie blood stained messages left on the wall by the 'Heir of Slytherin'.

That had both Harry and Ron hopping mad, as they tried to figure out who the heir was, and further confirmed in their minds that all the Slytherins were rotten snakes. Hermione tried to dissuade them, bringing up the fact that Marcus was still a very lovely friend to her, but they wanted nothing to do with him. Even worse, they were doing everything they could to convince her to spend less time with her.

Still, Hermione was convinced that Marcus could be their best bet on figuring out who the heir of Slytherin actually was. He slept in the Slytherin dorms every night, so she was positive that if any of the Slytherins were bragging about being the heir he would be able to figure it out.

She was determined to convince him to do a little reconnaissance. Hermione hadn't told the boys her plan, knowing that Harry and Ron would be annoyed with her for sharing their theories with the "enemy" but she wanted to get to the bottom of it. After all, she was the only one of them that had something at stake as the only muggleborn between them. She'd agreed to go along with their foolish plan to polyjuice into some Slytherins, but the potion took forever to brew, and she was hoping that Marcus would have something worthwhile to share with them before they had to take it.

Once she'd decided, she tried to think of the best way to approach Marcus. She hoped that he wouldn't think she was asking him to snitch on his housemates. She figured that the best way to convince him was just to come out at say it. For a Slytherin, Marcus could be quite blunt, and he tended to appreciate a direction approach.

Nibbling on her lower lip one evening while they were in the library - each of them working on a potions assignment - she finally plucked up enough courage to come out and ask him.

"Pipsqueak, stop that before you bite a hole through your lip." Marcus scolded, looking up from his parchment. His eyebrows furrowed together and she could see the confused look in his blue eyes. "What's on your mind?" He asked, leaning back in his chair, his arms resting behind his head, inadvertently showing off his broad chest.

Hermione leaned forward across the desk so that she could speak more quietly. "What do you know about the Heir of Slytherin?" She asked, delicately.

His eyebrows shot up towards his hairline. "Nothing really. I mean, just what I know from what the professors have told us. That they opened the Chamber of Secrets and released a monster out into the school. And, Professor Snape told us it's happened once before, way back." He shrugged his shoulders.

"So, no one in Slytherin house has been...bragging about being the Heir?" She asked, feeling disappointment seep into her bones when she saw Marcus shake his head vehemently. So much for their plan to sneak in...if no one was talking about it, they weren't likely to get any more information. "Do you think you could ask around?"

"I dunno, Hermione. I think that would seem a little suspicious coming from me." Marcus said, though it was easy to see that he was waffling.

"Please, Marcus." Hermione practically begged. "It would really help me a lot."

He took a deep breath, looking at her hard, before he gave a stiff nod in agreement. "Alright, but give me a week, alright? I will tell you anything that I find out." He promised and Hermione rewarded him with a brilliant smile.

* * *

Marcus and Hermione met the following week at the same table in the library. From the way that she was wiggling in her seat, Marcus knew that Hermione was dying to see what kind of information he'd been able to glean from his week of being a _very_ active listener in the Slytherin common room. It meant spending a lot more time than usual in the common room, and giving up some of his precious "quiet time." It seemed that everyone was eager to play armchair captain with him, even though they'd won their last quidditch match easily. Still, they were eager to tell him what kind of formations to fly in the next match.

He'd put the feelers out about the Heir of Slytherin with some of the boys in his year, which was easy to do after he found some of them laughing over the upset way that Filch had reacted to finding his cat, which Marcus thought was a bit rude. Still, none of them knew who the Heir of Slytherin was, and judging by their denials, Marcus was sure that they were telling the truth. After that he'd worked his way through the lower years, but found that everyone was similarly in the dark about the identity of the Heir.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. No one knew anything about the Heir." Marcus said, coming right out and saying it. He hoped that she wasn't terribly disappointed in him, because if there was anything he hated it was seeing Hermione upset.

From the way her shoulders deflated, he knew immediately that she was disappointed. "Are you sure...I mean, Malfoy has been pretty vocal about it." She questioned, a smidgen of hope bleeding into her voice.

Marcus shook his head, wincing. Bringing a hand up, he rubbed at the back of his neck in embarrassment. "No, Malfoy doesn't know anything...I even roughed him up a bit, but he didn't know anything. Believe me, if he did, that little shite would be bragging about it." He hadn't meant to hurt Malfoy, but then he'd heard him talking about how he hoped that Hermione was killed by the monster. It had been enough to have him seething, and he'd lashed out.

"Is that why he had a bloody nose the other day?" Hermione asked, with a little smirk coming onto her face. There was no secret that Hermione hated Malfoy, and she surprised him with her little mean streak. Hermione seemed like a goody-two shoes, but underneath it all, she had a real sense of wanting things to be fair, and sometimes payback was fair.

Her smile was infectious and he found himself smiling back at her. "Yeah, he deserved it though." Marcus said with a laugh. He supposed he shouldn't feel so bad for what he'd done to the blond. Still, Malfoy's words had turned his blood cold and he was actually becoming quite worried for Hermione's safety. The thought that a monster was hunting muggleborns in Hogwarts was eerie. "Promise me you will be safe, though? I did find out that the last time the Chamber was open, a student died."

The good mood between them immediately evaporated at his words, before Hermione put a brave face on. "I will be fine, Marcus, I promise. I am sure that the Professors will figure out who the culprit is sooner or later." She said, proudly. Marcus wondered if she actually believed the words she said or if she was just trying to comfort him. She was a Gryffindor after all, and they were known to be foolhardy and a bit brash.

Before he could think on it too much more, Hermione was suggesting that they get to work on their homework. He tried to push the negative thoughts from his mind, and focus on the Charms reading he had in front of him.

* * *

Hermione had asked Harry and Ron to meet her back in the common room after curfew so they could discuss the Chamber of Secrets. She wanted to tell them what she'd learned from Marcus before they went stealing from Professor Snape's potion stores for the polyjuice potion. If they didn't have to use it, she wouldn't brew it.

The fire was down to just embers by the time that she heard the two boys clambering down the stairs. She wanted to roll her eyes at how loud they sounded, thinking that it rather sounded like they were trying to make as much as possible. Hermione wouldn't deny that one of the things that she admired about the Slytherins was their subtlety and stealth.

Harry and Ron slipped into the table that she was waiting for them at, each with confused and eager looks on their faces. "What is it 'Mione?" Ron asked, and Hermione tried not to cringe at the use of the nickname he'd bestowed on her.

"I have news about the Heir of Slytherin." She said calmly. It was easy to see how invested the two boys were because they quickly leaned forward, not wanting to miss anything that she had to say about it. "I'm afraid it's not good news. I asked Marcus to see if anyone in Slytherin knew who the Heir was, and he said everyone is just as in the dark as we are. Even Malfoy didn't know anything."

"Hermione! You know we can't trust Flint! I can't believe you'd even go behind are backs and involve him in this." Ron said, his face turning a very ugly color of red.

"I trust Marcus." Hermione said emphatically. "And I wasn't going behind your backs, I just knew that you wouldn't react well if I asked you first." Perhaps she had gone behind their backs because she knew that they would hate giving Marcus any kind of information.

"I don't know, Hermione. I don't know if we can believe what he has to say." Harry said, slightly apologetically. "He could be trying to protect one of his housemates, and...well, he is a Slytherin. They are all about self-preservation."

She pursed her lips together, considering Harry's words, before shaking it off. "I know that Marcus wouldn't lie to me."

"Of course he would!" Ron's voice was rising rapidly, and Hermione was starting to get worried that their little chat might get stumbled on. "He's a dirty, lying, snake!" The way his jaw set, Hermione knew that this was going to be an argument for the ages. She and Ron just couldn't seem to see eye to eye on most things, and honestly, she probably would have hexed him last year, if Harry's friendship hadn't been important to her.

"He is not!" She seethed, practically snarling at Ronald. "I am not just going to sit here and let you bad mouth my friend. Marcus cares about me, and he told me that the last time the Chamber was opened, a muggleborn died. If he knew who the heir was he'd tell me because he wants to keep me safe." She was so angry that she had tears forming in her eyes, and she watched as Harry softened.

"I dunno, Hermione, maybe we should just double check?" Harry offered, diplomatically.

"Yeah, so we can show you that your friend is nothing more than a liar." Ron couldn't help to throw into the conversation, making Hermione livid.

She stood abruptly. "Well, then, I suppose you two can figure out how to brew your own polyjuice potion, because I am not going to waste my time on something that won't even help us. I am the only one out of the three of us who is endangered from the monster, so don't you think I would be pursuing this if I thought it was in our best interest?"

Turning abruptly on her heel, she hoped to give the two time to think about what they'd said, and if she was lucky, they would come crawling with a half-arsed apology in a few days when they realized that they were hopeless without her.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows!

Please let me know what you thought of chapter six and be on the lookout for chapter seven soon!

* * *

With each additional petrification, Hermione found herself living more and more on edge. Harry and Ron were still annoyed with her for refusing to brew the polyjuice potion so they could get more information on the Heir of Slytherin, but she trusted Marcus when he said that no one in Slytherin had any clue what was going on. Because of that, their information on the subject had trickled to a complete standstill.

Hermione had turned her attentions to figuring out what the monster that lived in the Chamber of Secrets _was_ as well as pouring over what few castle details she could to try and figure out where it was located. Sometimes it felt so hopeless. After all, the school had been searched several times by witches and wizards far more knowledgeable than she was.

She'd been on edge ever since Colin Creevy was petrified. Hermione had heard that he tried taking a picture of the beast, but that the film had been destroyed. That was bad enough, but not much longer after that, Justin Finch-Fletchly had been petrified too, along with the Gryffindor House ghost, Nearly-Headless Nick. Both of the boys were well known muggleborns, and it put her nerves on edge knowing that whatever the beast was...it was acutally targetting muggleborns.

It had her constantly worrying about what might happen to her. She spent a lot of time in the library, walking back to Gryffindor tower by herself because Harry and Ron couldn't be bothered to open a book. She wasn't going to change her habits just because a monster was terrorizing the school - after all, that's what you were meant to do? They only one if it caused you to disrupt your life.

Biting her lower lip, she looked across the library table at Marcus Flint. She was impressed that he was keeping up with his studies now that OWLs were done. "No reason not to start studying for the NEWTs next year." He'd said gruffly, bit of pink on his cheeks. It seemed that he was just as determined to do well on the seventh year exams that Hermione was already dreading even though they were years away.

Marcus was big and burly, maybe the largest boy she'd ever met, full of strong muscle. She figured he would never be afraid of a silly monster that tried to kill muggleborns. What would he have to be afraid of. He could overpower anyone on brute strength alone, but even more than that, he was a pureblood. He didn't have to worry about the monster coming after him in the first place.

She could ask him to walk her back to Gryffindor tower, she knew, but she was far too embarrassed to do so. She knew that he would do it just because he was her friend. It was nice to let her mind wander a bit to him playing dashing hero to her damsel, but it was such a perposterous idea that she shoved it to the back of her mind.

"Pipsqueak, what's got you all bothered?" He asked her, startling Hermione from her musings. She blushed when she saw that he was staring right at her, a concerned look on his face. "You haven't turned the page in over ten minutes."

She blushed ever _harder_ knowing that he noticed so much about her, like when she was distracted from whatever she was working on. "I just…" She started, before deciding to come clean to him about her fears. He was her friend after all. "I'm afraid of the monster."

"You?" He asked, genuinely surprised. "Hermione, I don't think I've ever met such a gifted witch as you. I'm pretty sure you'd have the monster on its back and begging for mercy if it tried to attack you."

It was wonderful to hear that he thought so highly of her, especially her skills as a witch. When she'd come to this world, she'd been disappointed to learn that she had different set of exceptations for being exceptional, seeing as she was muggleborn. That she would have to prove herself so much more than someone like Ron Weasley or Draco Malfoy.

She looked down at her hands in her lap. "It's just...I don't want to die." Hermione said, looking up into his blue eyes. It was true that she had so much more in life that she wanted to do. "I mean, I haven't even been kissed before." The words tumbled out of her mouth before she knew she was saying them, but it was true. She was still a teenaged girl. She longed to be kissed and swept off of her feet.

However, her statement absolutely had Marcus blushing fiercely. "Oi, you're young yet." He said, in a way that she was sure was meant to make her feel better, be reassuring, but it only sent a sting of pain to know that Marcus thought of her as a little girl. "It will happen, Hermione. I promise that soon you will have boys lining up to kiss you."

She doubted his words, but she hoped that he was right that it would happen one day. Her eyes darted to his own lips, and she thought about asking him for a kiss, but she chickened out before she could. No, her first kiss should be with someone who wanted to kiss her. Still, it was nice to know that he at least thought that boys would be interested in her some day in the future. Feeling as though she'd rather embarrassed herself enough for one night, Hermione decided that she should head back to the dorm before she said anything truly embarrassing to Marcus.

"I think I am going to head back to the tower, Marcus. I don't think I'll get much more work done, worrying about Slytherin's monster." Hermione said, shutting her book and packing them up into her book bag.

Marcus nodded in understanding, giving her a sad look. "I just know this is going to get sorted soon, Hermione. You know that I would tell you if I knew anything, right?" He asked again. She knew that it must be really difficult for him to be a Slytherin right about know. She was sure that the whole school had been against them, much like they'd recently turned against Harry. Yes, being a parselmouth was... _unusual_ , but that didn't make him the Heir either.

Nodding, Hermione reassured him that she trusted him, before bidding him goodnight.

* * *

Marcus wanted to punch something, seeing Hermione laid out in the bed in the hospital wing. Pucey had told him very discretely that Hermione had been petrified, by Slytherin's monster, and promised him that he would cover for him with Professor Snape so he could go visit her.

As soon as he'd made it to the hospital wing, he'd been dismayed to see that Potter and Weasley were already there. Weasley didn't waste any time to through all kinds of accusations his way. "You slimey snake, this is all your fault!" He'd said, jabbing his finger Marcus's way. "I know one of you Slytherins is behind all of this, and you went and got Hermione petrified! I told her she never should have trusted you."

Marcus was ashamed to say that he hadn't taken it well. "Fuck you, Weasley! Hermione's is my friend too, and I care about her." His voice had cracked then, seeing how little she looked in the bed, her face frozen in shock. "I never would have let something like this happen to her if I could stop it." He was normally so taciturn, but he couldn't hold back his feelings on this, because well...Hermione was the only one who gave a damn about him most of the time.

Luckily, Potter had stepped in, grabbing Weasley by the shoulder and pulling him out of the room, telling him that they had to go. Judging by the way that they were running, he figured that the pair of them might know _something_ , but he was just glad that he was getting a moment alone with Hermione.

He felt so bad, remembering how just a few weeks previously, she'd admitted that she didn't want to die without having her first kiss, and now...who knew if she would wake up _ever_. His heart beat was so loud in his chest, he was sure that it was echoing through the hospital wing, as he bent forward, cupping her cold cheek. He couldn't go back and give her a kiss then, but he could give her one now.

Marcus wondered if she might like to receive a kiss from him, or if she would be horrified that a half- _troll_ moron would deign to kiss her lips. Still, he couldn't stop himself, wanting to give her this one thing, _just in case_.

Pressing his lips against hers gently, he lingered only for a moment, only for it to be a little _more_ than a peck, but he pulled back seeing as she remained cold and unfeeling. He felt a bit stupid, wondering what he had expected. It wasn't as if she were Sleeping Beauty and he was her handsome prince, come to wake her from a sleeping curse with true love's kiss _._

* * *

It had taken several weeks and a lot of work by multiple professors, but Hermione had finally woken up from being petrified. Marcus couldn't think of another time that he'd been happier - this far surpassed getting his OWL results. Maybe part of it was knowing that he'd helped to accomplish it.

After he'd left the hospital wing, he'd gone to Professor Snape, asking what he could do to help with the potion that would revive all of the petrified students. His Head of House had given him an imperious look, before telling Marcus that the potion was too tricky for a mere student to assist with, but that Professor Sprout might appreciate help with the mandrakes.

He'd eagerly made his way out to the greenhouses and offered his assistance, which was greatly appreciated. Only one other student had offered - Neville Longbottom. The Gryffindor boy was perpetually frightened by Marcus, but slowly, the two of them had learned to work together, Marcus doing most of the heavy lifting, while Neville handled things that needed more finesse.

It was worth it, though, to finally see Hermione up and awake. Madame Pomfrey still hadn't released her when he went by to see her. "I'm getting real tired of having to come visit you in the hospital wing, Pipsqueak." He told her, with a huge smile on his face, just glad that she was awake and able to talk to him. He'd missed her more than he would have expected. "They said that you were the one that figure out the monster, even while you were petrified."

"Well, I am just glad that Harry and Ron found my note in time." Hermione said, unable to take the compliment on its face. She was always selling herself short. "I didn't really do anything compared to what Harry went through."

The school was full of gossip, but no one knew exactly what had happened down in the Chamber of Secrets. He did know that Lockhart was revealed to be a fraud, and that he'd had his memory wiped, accidentally. "Naw, we all know it was you that figured it out, even if it was Potter than killed the damn thing."

"It was Ginny Weasley that opened the Chamber." Hermione whispered quietly. "She was possessed by a book, and...well, Harry told me what Ron said to you. I know he won't ever apologize, but I am sorry on his behalf. I bet he is reeling, realizing that his little sister was the one the whole time, and he couldn't look past Slytherin house."

"It's alright, Hermione." Marcus said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I know you didn't think it was me."

"It's not alright." She said firmly. "They should trust my judgement. You are my friend and I know you wouldn't keep something like that from me." She was so steadfast in her belief in him, it made his stomach do all sorts of silly little dips and spins.

Marcus wondered if he should tell her about how he kissed her, if it was wrong to keep something like that from her, but in the end, he couldn't bare the thought of her being upset with him, so he kept it to himself. Instead, he leaned in for a hug. "I'm just glad you're safe. Let them think what they want about me, but, just...keep yourself safe."

Hermione squeezed him tighter. "Aw, you big _brute_." She said teasingly. "I promise not to worry you like this again." Both of them knew that she couldn't make that kind of promise, especially not with Harry Potter as a friend, but it was a nice sentiment anyway. It was something that they could both hope for.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! I can't believe today is the last day of Marcus May :( never fear, though, I will definitely keep posting this story! You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post story updates, sneak peeks and answer questions!

Please let me know what you thought of chapter seven and be on the lookout for chapter eight soon!

* * *

By the time Hermione had arrived at Hogwarts to begin her third year, she should have known that it was impossible for her to have a "normal" year like so many of her other classmates could. Because, they had only just walked into the castle and already, things were on edge.

First, before she'd even gotten to school, she and Ron had started fighting. Hermione had gotten a rather cute familiar, who Ron was very fond of defaming, claiming that he'd been trying to kill Ron's _precious_ rat, Scabbers. That was a laugh to Hermione considering that he had never taken very good care of the old thing before Crookshanks came around. And really, Crooksie was a cat, and it was in his instincts to hunt rats and mice.

Harry hadn't been very pleased to be in the middle of their arguing and had taken Ron's side, predictably. It hurt to know that she was always on the periphery of _their_ friendship, and she doubted it was something that was going to change. They would always chose each other over her. At least, she had Marcus herself, but Hermione was also painfully aware that her burly friend was a seventh year, and wouldn't be around the following year.

She didn't even want to imagine what that was going to be like. Would Marcus completely forget about her when he was gone from Hogwarts? She liked to think that it wasn't true, but at the same time, she knew that he was probably going to play Quidditch and end up traveling all over the world, and probably get a beautiful girlfriend and, just...there was no way that a teenage friend was going to be able to compete with such a cosmopolitan lifestyle.

But, her troubles had not ended with Ron. Sirius Black, who was known for murdering all sorts of muggles and who was responsible for Harry's parents deaths, had escaped from Azkaban prison. That meant that the Ministry had been desperately looking for him, and some of their measures were a bit extreme.

Hermione hadn't realized just how extreme they were until their carriage had been descended upon by dementors, who were some kind of guards at Azkaban. The effect that they had on her had been awful, making her feel all sorts of negative emotions - that no one liked her, no one would ever like her, and that she should just die, sad and alone. But, at least they hadn't affected her as much as they'd affected poor Harry. He'd passed out in a great heap.

Luckily, a professor had been riding up with them and had gotten rid of the dementors, and gave them a bit of chocolate, which in all honesty, did make her feel better. It didn't seem to brighten Harry's spirits too much though. He was far too embarrassed at being the only one on the whole train who had passed out. In the commotion on the train, the news that he was so _weak_ had traveled up and down the Hogwarts Express, and by dinner time, everyone knew that he'd passed out.

"Just ignore them Harry." Hermione whispered when he noticed some of the Slytherins in their year gossiping about him, but to her disappointment, he just shrugged her arm off his shoulder.

It was likely to be a rough year.

* * *

As much as Hermione hated Quidditch, all of her friends enjoyed it, and her two best friends played it. That meant that even though she didn't understand all the hype about the sport, she would trudge out to the stands with Ron on match days and settle in and try to participate in the revelry on Gryffindor game days.

She sometimes wondered if Marcus was ever bothered that she didn't come to Slytherin games, but she knew she wouldn't find a welcome reception in the stands. Instead, she would ask him details about the game after.

When Slytherin played Gryffindor, though, she would happily go along, cheering for Harry to catch the snitch and for Marcus to score with the quaffle. Honestly, she didn't know how either of them did it. She could barely get comfortable flying on a broom despite Marcus's lessons. She couldn't imagine trying to chase a tiny little ball through the air, or fly one handed with a giant dodgeball under your arm! She kept her opinions to herself, though, seeing as she didn't want to offend one of them, or worse, have Marcus try to resume their flying lessons!

To be honest, Hermione preferred watching Marcus play. Harry was a very skilled flyer, but so much of his game time was spent just hovering around in the air, except for short bursts when he chased the snitch. Those moments were usually death defying, and most of the time, Hermione couldn't watch. Chasers had more steady game time, and ran complex plays. Not to mention that...well, he looked rather _nice_ in his uniform.

Today, though, Gryffindor was playing Ravenclaw. Hermione could see the Slytherin Quidditch squad not far away - no surprise there - they always wanted to check out the competition, though Hermione did find it a bit curious that Malfoy was nowhere to be seen.

Before she could think on it too much, though, Hermione's attention was grabbed by a black shadowy figure out on the pitch. Harry must have noticed it too, because as soon as he caught sight of the dementor, he was falling off his broom, until he realized what happened, and grabbed a hold of it. His face was white with terror and Hermione felt her heart lurch for him.

Only then, the black shroud was thrown off of the creature's body and it was revealed to be Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, dressed up in a cruel malicious trick. The Slytherin quad was all laughing at the situation, including Marcus. Hermione was so aghast to see her friend laughing at Harry's misfortune that she stewed for the rest of the match. She felt a little bit of triumph to see that Harry had still caught the snitch in the end.

Shaking out of Ron's view, Hermione slipped through the streaming crowds until she found Marcus's large frame, and roughly elbowed her way into him. He certainly wasn't expecting _that_ because as soon as noticed her the jubilant smile was fading from his face, replaced with a guilty look. "Hermione? What's the matter?" He asked, cautiously.

Hermione kind of wanted to roll her eyes, but she was seething too much to take him to task for trying to play dumb. "What's wrong? What's wrong Marcus? How could you do that to poor Harry? He could have been killed!" She pressed her hands into her hips and she _knew_ that her voice was taking on that shrill tone that Ron often mocked her for, but she was just...so mad!

"Oh, Potter was perfectly safe, Granger!" Bole derided her. "The professors wouldn't have let St. Potter die."

Hermione set her jaw defiantly. She didn't come here to argue with Bole. She didn't really _care_ what the rest of the Slytherin squad did, but she did care about what Marcus did. "Still it was a rotten trick to play on my friend, and it was wrong to laugh at him about it." She let her eyes wander back over to Marcus's face, and she could see how affected he was by her disappointment.

"Does Potter know that you are fighting his battles for him, Granger?" Adrian Pucey asked, his voice still and gentle, but hiding all kinds of meaning underneath. "He's probably embarrassed enough already, but I think he'd be even more embarrassed about the fact that a _girl_ is doing all the talking for him."

Her nostrils flared, knowing that Harry probably _would_ be embarrassed to learn that she'd sought out the Slytherin team. She waited a beat, and still, no response whatsoever from Marcus. Sighing she looked at him. His eyes were glued to his feet and he wouldn't look at her at all. "I'm really disappointed in you Marcus." She said with a frown before turning on her heel, needing to put as much distance between them as possible.

The Slytherins all started laughing after she left. "Looks like you are in the dog house, Flint." Pucey said with a little grin at the way that the tiny Gryffindor had talked to Marcus and gotten away with it. If anyone else had smarted off to him that way, Marcus would have been reacting - the older boy definitely had a violent streak.

Marcus shrugged his shoulders, not really sure what to say. He knew that Hermione was right, but he also didn't want to seem like a big pansy in front of his squad.

* * *

Hermione was sitting in the library, trying to work on her homework, and desperately trying _not_ to think about how usually Marcus would join her. She was still annoyed at him for laughing at the mean joke Malfoy had played on Harry and the way that he'd just basically ignored her when she confronted him about it. No matter, how hard she tried, though, she just couldn't focus on the words in front of her.

Deciding that she should maybe just get an early night, Hermione started to pack up her books so that she could head back to Gryffindor tower. The noise of someone clearing their throat caught her attention, and had her snapping her head up.

There, a few paces away from the table, was Marcus, standing with a purring Crookshanks in his arms. Hermione scowled at the giant, purring cat that only looked _too_ at home in Marcus's arms. "Crookshanks, you traitor." She whispered just loud enough for both of them to hear.

Marcus at least had the decency to look embarrassed. "Um, Hermione, can I talk to you for a minute?" He asked. From the tension in his shoulders, she could tell that he was trying really hard to maintain eye contact with her, when she was sure he wanted his eyes back on his feet again.

She looked him up and down, and thought about it for a minute. Sighing, knowing that she was going to give him a chance to explain, Hermione nodded, before slipping back into her usual spot. Marcus sat across from her, and Crookshanks settled nicely into his lap. "I wanted to apologize." He blurted out quickly. "You were right that it was a rotten trick of Malfoy to play on Potter, and it _was_ dangerous, though I think Potter had himself handled."

It was nice to know that Marcus gave her an honest apology, unlike Ron who would grumble about things and never actually get around to saying 'I'm sorry'. Still, she wasn't _just_ upset about the trick that was played on Harry. She crossed her hands over her chest and stared him down, trying to get him to keep talking.

That seemed to do the trick. "I want you to know that I had no idea about the prank, but it was wrong of me to laugh." Marcus said, rubbing the back of his neck - a nervous habit of his. "And, I've told off all the guys for doing it. Not only is it wrong, but it could have meant real punishments for the squad. I can't do anything about Malfoy's goons, but...let's just say Malfoy isn't going to like his next practice."

Hermione searched his blue eyes for a moment, and she found only sincerity shining back at her. He really was sorry, she could tell. "That's good. I just wish that you would have...well, told me this back out on the pitch. Are you embarrassed to be my friend? That you'll ignore me when you are in front of your squad."

Marcus's eyes leapt up from his hands to her face. "Pipsqueak, you know that's not true! I'm not embarrassed to be your friend, but like, it's never nice to get scolded in front of your mates. Especially when you are meant to be some big tough guy." It was true that having her be _so_ disappointed in him had made him calm right up, not to mention that team seemed to think he was whipped by her, whatever that meant. "Salazar, Hermione, please don't be mad at me anymore. I can't stand not talking to you."

Her eyes widened at his statement, and all traces of her being upset with him were replaced with a cautious smile. "Of course I forgive you, Marcus. To be honest...I can't stand not talking to you too." She said with a grin, before wrapping him up in a tight hug that seemed to go on just a _little_ too long. Hermione pulled away with a bright blush on her cheeks. Eager to change the subject, Hermione questioned him about Crookshanks. "How do you even get Crookshanks to like you so much, anyway? He seems to hate everyone."

Marcus grinned at her. "That, pipsqueak, is a secret between me and Crooksie." He scratched the huge cat under the chin, and in response, Crooks only purred louder.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! I am so glad you are liking this little bit of cotton candy fluff. I gotta say, I am pretty excited about this one, because it doesn't hold onto canon quite as heavily as the others. And, Hermione has quite a lot on her mind, I can't wait to see what you all make of the question posed at the end :) You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates, and answer questions.

Please let me know what you thought of chapter eight and be on the lookout for chapter nine soon!

* * *

It was a bit ridiculous, to be sitting in the library, crying to herself once again. It had been a few years since she'd done it, and honestly, Hermione thought she was past these overly emotional displays. But she would never get over the absolute hurt that she felt based on the way that Harry and Ron were treating her.

So who cared if she sniffled into a book for a few hours? No one would be around to see her anyway.

She had been planning on going into Hogsmeade with Harry and Ron, just like they had earlier that year. Hermione and Ron would head down with the rest of the students, while Harry would sneak out and join them later, using his invisibility cloak, seeing as his guardians hadn't signed his permission slip to go for visits to the Wizarding village. They'd done it once earlier in the year, and it had been pretty fun, especially seeing as they had a chance to mess with Malfoy and some of his friends, though it had also lead to a rather awkward experience: her and Ron having to spend time alone together. She didn't know what had happened exactly, except that her friend had turned into a bumbling, blushing mess incapable of holding a conversation with her.

Of course, that hadn't been the way that things had gone, seeing as she'd had to go and do the right thing, reporting to Professor McGonagall that Harry had received a broom from an unknown sender and was planning on using it in the upcoming Quidditch match. McGonagall, who was an avid Quidditch fan, had agreed with Hermione that the gift was suspicious and had confiscated the broom. That meant that Harry had to use one of the school brooms while she scanned it for hexes or curses.

The boys hadn't spoke to her since then, blaming her for the fact that Harry couldn't use his Firebolt. They were so Quidditch obsessed, that they couldn't see that Harry's life was potentially in danger! After all, Sirius Black was still lurking about, and it was no secret that he was getting closer and closer to Hogwarts, obviously looking for Harry. No, they were so obsessed with winning that they would rather risk something very serious happen to Harry.

To be honest, it had gone on far longer than Hermione had thought. It had been weeks now, and neither one of them looked like they were going to budge and begin speaking to her again, and her life had become so lonely once again. She still got to see Marcus, but it just served as a reminder to her that Marcus was going to be leaving the next year and well...her friendship with Harry and Ron was fickle.

Conjuring a kleenex, Hermione blew her nose into it, determined not to spend another minute feeling sorry for herself because she was friends with a pair of dolts. But, before she could focus on other topics, Marcus slunk himself into the seat across from her, hair wet from a shower and in an uncharacteristic green sweater that only served to make his eyes seem bluer. "Pipsqueak. You've been crying. What's wrong?" He asked, always so direct.

Despite knowing that he was rather Quidditch obsessed as well, to Hermione's horror, the story about the confiscated broomstick came tumbling out of her mouth, and once she was finished, she wanted to take every word back. What if Marcus agreed with Harry and Ron and he wouldn't want to talk to her any more either?

"What a pair of idiots." Marcus said, shaking his head back and forth. "I mean, I know he's the 'boy-who-lived, but does Potter have a death wish?"

Despite her best efforts, Hermione couldn't stop the giggle that bubbled up inside of her. Of course Marcus would see it from her side - really, she thought, anyone outside of the Gryffindor Quidditch squad would. "He says he doesn't, but I am not so sure. So that's why I am in here, and not out enjoying Hogsmeade. What's your excuse?" She asked him, wondering why he wasn't out with someone.

"I was practicing some drills." Marcus said, a bit of a blush highlighting his cheeks, before he dropped his voice a little lower. "I want to go to some trials for a Professional Quidditch spot after school." He revealed.

Hermione rewarded him with a broad smile. "That's excellent Marcus. I am sure that you can get a spot - you're a brilliant player. Just promise you won't forget me when you are rich and famous?" She pressed him, trying not to show how the idea of him leaving caused a knot to form in her throat.

He gave her a smirk. "Oh, I could never forget you pipsqueak. You're my first friend." He was so earnest that an unknown feeling lingered in the air between them. Uncomfortable with the uncertainty, Marcus decided to change to subject. "So, do you still want to go to Hogsmeade? We have some time yet to swing by a shop or two, maybe grab a butterbeer."

Hermione smiled back at him, before waving her wand to pack up her books. "I would love to go. Shall we?" She asked, before leading him out of the library and towards the entrance of Hogwarts. He kept pace with her easily enough, seeing as she was nearly a foot shorter than he was. "Marcus, do you mind if I stop in Tomes and Scrolls? I promise that I will be quick." Hermione knew how much Ron and Harry could complain when she would stop there, always saying it was boring to go to a bookstore when she would spend more than five minutes.

To her immense surprise, Marcus didn't mind at all. "Take your time, pipsqueak." He said, before following inside. He followed her around the store, but didn't complain a single time, and instead insisted on carrying any of the books she decided she was going to purchase, looking through them all the while. "I can't believe you can understand all of this. Arithmancy makes my brain go a bit fuzzy." He said, while carrying her books to the front counter, so they could leave.

"Well, it's not for everyone." Hermione said with a fond smile. "But it has it's uses. Honestly, I prefer it to Divination. Professor Trelawney told me that I don't have the Sight and that I am going to wither away, sad and alone, clinging to books." She said with a blush. She hadn't told anyone how much the woman's words had affected her, but then her argument with Harry and Ron had only reinforced her fears that she would end up alone.

"The only sight Trelawney has is through the bottom of a sherry bottle." Marcus said snidely, which made Hermione laugh despite herself. It wasn't nice to make fun of her professors, no matter how rude that professor was to her. But, it seemed like Marcus always knew what to say to cheer her up. He pointed towards Honeyduke's. "Fancy some chocolate?" He asked.

Nodding, Hermione followed along after him. Luckily, since it was later in the day, the sweet shop wasn't quite so busy. Hermione pursued the shelves, before settling on a packet of sugar quills, her favorite. Marcus had selected a rather large collection of fudge, which appeared to be his favorite.

Walking over to the till, Marcus plucked the packet of sugar quills out of her hands, before digging out some coins to pay the shopkeeper. Hermione scolded him. "Marcus, I can pay for my own candy."

Marcus waved her off with a little smile. "I know you only came in here because I wanted to. Let me buy you a treat - it's only a few sickles anyway." Seeing that he wasn't going to budge on his topic, Hermione made a big production of sighing, before allowing him to pay anyway. It was nice that he was such a thoughtful friend.

When they left Honeyduke's there was still a bit of time left before the students would have to return to the castle. "Fancy a butterbeer?" Hermione asked, looking at the inviting looking facade of the Three Broomsticks. It was quite lively inside, full of students, though not full to bursting as it usually was. Marcus hesitated for only a moment, before nodding and leading the way towards the bar, a hand pressed lightly on her upper back to guide her through the door.

Hermione located a table for them quickly, while Marcus made his way to the bar to get them some drinks. Smiling at his back, Hermione decided that she'd have to think of a way to slip Marcus a galleon. He was far too generous with her.

* * *

It was much later when Marcus dropped Hermione off at the Gryffindor Common Room, despite her protests that she could walk by herself. Perhaps, remembering how she'd made an enemy of herself with the Gryffindor Quidditch squad, he wanted to extend their time together as long as possible, knowing that she was walking back to loneliness. They stood outside of the Fat Lady's portrait for a few awkward moments, before Hermione bid him goodnight and disappeared into the Common Room.

Smiling to herself, Hermione reflected on the day, thinking that it really had been an excellent day, and she was glad that Marcus had invited her to the village, when she probably would have spent the rest of the day moping around the tower if it wasn't for her. They'd talked about his plans for after school, and all the teams that he wanted to try out for. His favorite were the Falmouth Falcons, and Hermione made a mental note to read up more on the squad. He'd in turn asked her about her own plans for the summer, which included a trip to France with her parents. It was interesting to hear, but Marcus hadn't ever traveled much outside of the UK.

Just when she thought that her perfect day couldn't be ruined, Ron Weasley had to stick his foot in it, determined to bring her down when he knew that she was happy. "Enjoyed your little date then, did you? Is that just another favor you do to help the Slytherin Quidditch squad?"

Hermione reeled back, surprised at the word date. It was...preposterous to think that she and Marcus had gone on a date. After all, he was older than her and couldn't be interested in a third year like her, could he? "I wasn't on a date, Ronald. Marcus is my friend, just the same as you are. Did we go on a date last time we went to Hogsmeade?"

His face went red, all the way to the tips of his ears. "As if I'd go on a date with a traitor like you." He said, voice cracking. "You can say whatever you like, but I saw you and that brute and it sure looked like a date to me. Hold my books Flint, buy my butterbeer Flint." He mocked her voice in a shrill tone, which hurt her even more to know that he thought she sounded that way.

She couldn't deny that his words made her heart beat a little bit faster. She supposed it was a bit...date like that Marcus had bought her a drink and a packet of sugar quills. He'd never done anything like it before. Suddenly, her mind was surging with the possibility that it had been a date. It had been a dark secret of her's through her third year that she'd had a little crush on her older friend. She would never dream of telling him that she liked the way he looked in his tight Quidditch pants, or that sometimes, in the library, the sight of his firm biceps made her mouth go a bit dry.

And his eyes, they were such a dreamy blue, she could look at them all day long.

Shaking her head to bring her back to the conversation at hand, Hermione frowned at Ron. "Marcus is just my friend, Ronald, and it wasn't a date." She said firmly, before walking up to the tower, trying to convince herself that it was true.

It wasn't a date, was it?


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Darlings! Thank you so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! I am so excited that you are enjoying this. The story is going to be mainly focused in year four, but we have one more chapter in third year. You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions!

Please let me know what you thought of chapter nine and be on the lookout for chapter ten soon!

* * *

The end of Hermione's third year had been rather intense and it left her with a lot of loose ends that she wasn't sure she was ever going to be able to tie up. She'd helped quiz Marcus on his subjects for his NEWTs - he'd decided to take four again, but was regretting it towards the end of the year. Despite all her promises that everything would go well, reminding him of how hard he'd worked, she knew that he was still very nervous about the exams.

She'd wished him good luck on his Herbology exam one day, but then all hell had broken loose with Ron and Harry. It started with a row over Crookshanks and Scabbers once again, but then it finished with their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Professor Lupin, transforming into a werewolf in front of their eyes. Oh, they came face to face with alleged mass murdered Sirius Black, Harry had stunned Professor Snape and they'd saved Buckbeak the Hippogriff and Sirius from execution, too.

All in a day's work, Hermione thought, and all thanks to the secret she'd been keeping all year of having her time turner. She'd been exhausted and confined to the Hospital Wing to "heal from her ordeal" by Madame Pomfrey (nevermind the fact that she wasn't actually hurt) and by the time that she'd been released back into the general population, the NEWTs had already been completed and Marcus was absolutely nowhere to be found.

She'd searched the library for him, watched the Slytherin table every day in the Great Hall, and even slunk around in the dungeons, until she couldn't take it anymore. Why would he just leave without saying goodbye to her? Didn't their friendship mean more to him than that? After all, he'd been pretty much her best friend for three whole years now. A horrified thought bubbled up inside of her and she wondered if perhaps he'd just thought of her as an annoying little tagalong all year.

When she couldn't take it anymore, she'd swallowed her pride and gone to ask Professor Snape what had happened. The dour potions master had just sneered in her general direction, wondered aloud why she always insisted on shoving her nose into other people's business, and then slammed the door in her face. Wincing, Hermione figured he was probably still bent out of shape about being stunned, even though it wasn't her who'd attacked him. She was guilty by associated.

With Professor Snape out of the question, Hermione had waffled for approximately two hours before deciding to ask the only other person she could come up with. Adrian Pucey. It wasn't hard to track the sixth year down, though she knew that he'd probably rather not talk to her at all, Hermione was determined to get some answers. "Er, Pucey? Can you tell me where Marcus is? Is everything okay?" She asked.

The boy pushed toffee colored hair out of his face, before giving her a look up and down, while he decided how much to tell her. Hermione could feel her cheeks color, knowing that it was probably rather forward of her to just blurt out the question like that, but damnit, Marcus was her friend and he was Pucey's friend too. It only made sense that she would ask him.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Adrian Pucey shrugged his shoulders. "He got called home about halfway through the NEWTs. Not sure what happened, but I haven't heard from him since then." Hermione felt her own shoulders drop in disappointment. "Look, Granger, wish I could tell you more, but that's literally all that I know."

Hermione nodded and thanked the other Slytherin before returning to the safety of Gryffindor tower. She wasn't sure what she was going to do. She obviously wanted to give Marcus some space, but she wanted to get some answers too. Maybe she should just write him once school was out.

* * *

Hermione barely had to wait a week at home before she had received an owl from Marcus, asking if she was free to go to Diagon Alley - saying that he wanted to talk to her about something. Hermione had eagerly written back, and sent a reply straight away, agreeing to meet him near the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron.

She'd agonized over what to wear, which felt a bit silly, but eventually, she settled on just wearing some muggle jeans and a t shirt. She hoped that Marcus wouldn't mind that she was so casual. Ever since they'd gone to Hogsmeade together and Ron had accused her of going on a date with the chaser, Hermione had been trying to suss out if there had been a shift in their relationship from friends to more. So, she wanted to be sure that if there was...something more that she made her best effort to look good for him.

When she met Marcus, though, standing in the alley by himself looking so out of place, Hermione could immediately tell that something was very, very wrong. He had big black bags under his eyes, and his black hair was a mess. She gasped, and rushed her way over to him. "Marcus? Are you okay?" She asked.

He didn't give her a moment to think before he was pulling her into a tight hug. With her face pressed against his chest, she could feel very fiber in his being tense, as though he were trying to hold back. Hermione wrapped her arms around his back, her fingers pressed into the soft cotton of his shirt, and relaxed into him, hoping that he would take some comfort in her. When he was ready he pulled back, and Hermione could see little tears welling into the corners of his eyes.

Hermione looked around, before grabbing his hand tightly in hers. "Come on, let's go in somewhere." She settled on going into a pub that was much less traveled than the Leaky, though it was right on the edge of Knockturn Alley. She wasn't so worried about her safety, knowing that Marcus would keep her safe if she needed to be protected.

She walked up to the bar, hoping that she exuded the kind of confidence that she wanted to, knowing that the bartender was much less likely to question her if she appeared like she belonged there. "Er, could I have a butterbeer and…" Hermione turned her head to look at how miserable her friend looked, "and a firewhiskey please." When the barkeep just raised an eyebrow at her, Hermione let out an exasperated sigh. "Come on, it's for my friend." She pointed her thumb over her shoulder at Marcus. "He's of age."

The bartender gave Marcus a look, before pulling the firewhiskey bottle off the shelf. She wasn't sure if he was being served because the bartender believed her or if it was just because Marcus looked so rough. "That'll be a galleon and two sickles."

"Put it on a tab for me. Flint." Marcus said, with enough authority that it made bartender's eyes widen. Before there was any more discussion, though, Hermione was guiding Marcus towards one of the snugs in the back of the pub. It was good because it meant that they could have a little bit of privacy. Once the door was shut, Hermione plucked Marcus's wand out of his pocket, before putting up a couple of silencing and locking spell. "Why'd you use my wand?"

Hermione blushed. "You don't have the trace on your's anymore, but I still do." She looked down at her hands, before looking back up at him. "Marcus, please tell me what's wrong? I was...worried about you when weren't in school after the NEWTs. Pucey said you were called home."

Marcus took a huge gulp of the firewhiskey in the glass, wincing at the burn, but needing it to steel himself to actually open up to her about this. "My mum caught a really bad case of dragon pox, and...well, my mum died." He whispered. He couldn't believe that she was gone, when she was one of the only other people in his life who was proud of him.

He could hear her tiny little gasp of surprise, but mostly he was glad to feel the weight of her hand on his. "Oh, Marcus, I am so sorry. I can't even begin to...it's alright, you know, to cry."

"That's not the end of it." He told her, grimacing. "I failed my NEWTs. I was so worried about her, that I just couldn't concentrate on the exams. I didn't even show up for the Charms one, and now...now I am going to have to repeat my seventh year." He pounded his fist against the table, making her flinch.

She bit her lower lip. "Oh, but Marcus, surely those are extenuating circumstances? Couldn't you...I don't know, petition the Ministry?" She gave his hand a squeeze. "Certainly there is some kind of procedure for this kind of issue."

Cautiously, he lifted his eyes to look at her for the first time since they'd gone into the snug. She looked so pretty, sitting there, so eager to help him. He didn't deserve such a nice friend as her. He shook his head sadly. "My father and I already tried that. Even my father's name and dubious prestige couldn't sway them." He crumbled under her stare. "Fuck, I am so embarrassed. I've just proved everyone right, everyone who said I was a dumb troll. I've proved them right...failing all my fucking NEWTs."

"Oh, Marcus, you know that's not true though. If your mum hadn't been sick, I just know that you would have passed them all." Hermione really did believe in that too. She knew how hard that he'd studied, especially in the last month. "And just think, now you will have so much time this next year to study, since you already know all that's coming up. I bet you will even get at least one exceeds expectations."

Hearing how optimistic she was, Marcus felt a small smile crack on his face for the first time in about a month. "You really think so?" He asked, feeling a bit shy. He supposed it was better late than never for him to get some NEWTs, but it was hard not to feel pretty shitty about having to go back to Hogwarts for another year. He'd been ready to start a new chapter of his life, and had been excited to have a few trials for some Quidditch teams. "How can you be so optimistic about this, pipsqueak?"

Sensing the mood had lifted a bit, Hermione cracked a smile at him. "I must confess that I am pretty excited about having you around for one more year. You are my best friend, Marcus, and I was going to be terribly lonely without you around next year."

Marcus stared down at where her hand was still on top of his. He turned it, so that he could cradle her tiny hand in his. It was odd, to see how much she'd changed from when he first met her in the library all those years ago. She'd grown a bit taller, and her hair was a bit more tamed, but it still seemed as if it had a life of it's own. Marcus loved her hair - it reminded him of the wind.

Her face had lost some of it's baby fat, and it was obvious that she'd grown in other areas as well, though he tried not to ogle her. Still, it was hard not to appreciate how she looked when she was wearing those tight muggle jeans. He didn't think that he'd ever seen her in such casual clothes, and it made his blood rush.

Staring into her amaretto brown eyes, Marcus was snapped out of his musings. It was wrong for him to be thinking about her that way. She was his friend, and...well, she couldn't possibly be having the same kind of thoughts about him as he was about her, could she? He was...older than her, and well...

He shook his head. "I suppose that's a positive. But don't expect me to fail again this year, just to keep you company, pipsqueak." Hermione giggled at that, and hearing her melodic laugh made his ears turn pink.

"I would never ask that of you, Marcus." Hermione responded. "Say, how about you and I go and get an ice cream cone from Fortescue's." She tugged on his hand, and pulled him from the snug, before heading off in the direction of the ice cream parlor.

He couldn't stop looking at the sight of his hand in her's.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! I am so glad that you are enjoying and I am so excited to start sharing year four with you. It is certain to bring a lot of changes, what with Viktor Krum showing up. You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions!

Please let me know what you thought of chapter ten and be on the lookout for chapter eleven soon!

* * *

It was no longer a surprise to Hermione any longer that the school year would be unusual. True, the reintroduction of the Triwizard's Tournament was a little bit more surprising than a loose basilisk in the castle or a werewolf professor, but Hermione settled in for another year or turmoil. All the students had been excited about the visitors from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, as they were a new group to add to their dating pool.

Marcus was disappointed because it meant that Quidditch was canceled, and he didn't have anything to distract him from his NEWT work. Hermione thought that it was also possibly because he tried to enter the tournament, but was barred, as he was repeating his seventh year. Hermione could agree that she thought it was particularly cruel of the Ministry for making that ruling, even if she didn't think that Marcus would have been selected.

Cedric Diggory, as Hogwarts champion certainly made sense. Cedric was the kind of guy that you would imagine representing Hogwarts. Hufflepuff, well liked, smart, athletic, good smile. On the other hand, Hermione never in a million years would have expected to hear Harry Potter's name pulled from the Goblet of Fire, giving two champions for Hogwarts. It was odd, and it had certainly caused quite the stir, seeing as it had never happened before that there were four champions _and_ that Harry was underage. The other schools were quite annoyed with the development, and as Hermione understood it from Harry, so was Dumbledore, but there was no getting out of it.

Harry being called as one of the champions had (predictably in her mind) caused quite a rift between Harry and Ron. Ron could have somewhat of a victim mentality, where he thought that everyone was _doing_ things to him. He couldn't believe that Harry _hadn't_ put his name into the cup, and it hurt Harry that his supposed best friend couldn't just trust her.

Because Harry and Ron were not speaking, it had put Hermione in the awkward position of playing messenger between the two of them. She'd put up with it for about two days, before she got too frustrated with being treated like an owl, and she refused to pass any messages between them. This also meant that she'd flat out told the two of them that she wouldn't go to Hogsmeade with either of them, not wanting to give the appearance of "taking sides".

The Friday before the Hogsmeade visit, she was talking with her roommates, Lavender and Parvati about the trip, trying to get an invitation to tag along with them, only to be disappointed to learn that the girls had a double date with Seamus and Dean. "Aren't you going to go with Flint?" Parvati had asked, a confused look on her face. "You guys are dating, right?"

Hermione's cheeks had blushed bright red at the suggestion. Her and Marcus dating? "Um, what are you talking about? We aren't…" She stumbled over her words, unable to say Marcus and dating in the same sentence. Well, she could admit that it _was_ something that she'd be interested in - her crush on him had only gotten worse, as she got older, finding him quite attractive, and of course, they got along smashingly - she was positive that Marcus would run away at the thought of it. Wouldn't he?

Lavender had given her a soothing smile, before crossing the room to put her arm around Hermione's shoulders. "You don't have to lie to us, Hermione. The _whole_ school knows that you guys are dating. You don't have to hide it from Parv and me."

She had been too confused to do anything but nod. Did the whole school really think that she and Marcus were together? They did spend an awful lot of time together. Her mind couldn't help but produce the time that he'd taken her to Hogsmeade the year before, and of course, holding hands and sharing an ice cream over the summer. Maybe they were dating and she just hadn't noticed it.

Deciding to ask Marcus if he wanted to go to Hogsmeade, Hermione would assess his behavior to determine if maybe...he was interested in her as more than a friend. She approached him before dinner had started, even though it meant walking all the way over to the Slytherin table. Adrian had greeted her with a smirk and a nod of his head. After what happened at the end of the year before, she and Adrian had come to a kind of friendly understanding, though she was positive that she'd never hang out with him.

"Hey Marcus. Fancy going to Hogsmeade again with me tomorrow?" Hermione asked, wringing her hands together. She didn't want to bring up the issues with Ron and Harry fighting, because she didn't want him to think that he was her second choice. She would honestly always prefer to go with him.

She watched his adam's apple bob up and down as he swallowed, his blue eyes trained on her. "Sure, that'd be great." Marcus said. "I could use an excuse to get out of the castle. Meet me tomorrow by the doors at noon?" He asked, sounding hopeful.

Hermione rewarded him with a grin, before nodding. "It's a date." She said nervously, with a cautious smile on her face. "See you then!" Hermione said brightly, before returning to the Gryffindor table for dinner, not waiting to see his response in case she'd just embarrassed herself terribly. Now she just needed to figure out what one Earth she was going to wear. If it was a date, she wanted to dress to impress.

* * *

After much deliberation, Hermione had settled on wearing a pair of muggle jeans, and a nice looking gray sweater, that showed off just a teeny, _tiny,_ hint of cleavage. Lavender had complimented her on the choice, and she just hoped that Marcus appreciated it as well. The worst thing would be to find out that he still just thought of her as a little first year girl. She was fifteen, and her body had undergone it's womanly transformation - as her Great Aunt Bernice told her the previous summer - and she wanted to...well, show it off a little.

She found Marcus waiting by the doors, nervously bouncing on his heels. He looked nice as well, wearing a set of casual robes. It made her wonder what he might look like in a pair of jeans. Marcus was in such good shape that she was positive he'd look _excellent_ in them. She gave him a little wave, before leading him in the direction of a coach. Unfortunately, they were not alone, sharing with a pair of Ravenclaw seventh year girls, but Hermione took the opportunity to sit a little bit closer to Marcus than she normally would, letting her side press into his.

By the time that they got to the village, any lingering awkwardness had faded away, while they chit chatted about Marcus's interactions with some of the boys from Durmstrang. There was no hiding that world famous seeker Viktor Krum was Durmstrang's champion, and Marcus had even played in a little impromptu Quidditch match with some of the former Slytherin players and the Durmstrang players.

Their day went much like it had the first time around, with Marcus following her around the bookstore for as long as she wanted, even offering to hold her books for her. Hermione, in turn, had accompanied him to the Quidditch supply store - just because he wasn't getting to play on a team this year didn't mean that he didn't like to _look_. Hermione even made note of a couple of options to get him for Christmas.

After that, he whisked her off to Honeydukes, and insisted on buying her sugar quills, and a chocolate assortment, after he learned that she'd never actually tried any of Honeyduke's specialty chocolates. That was certainly something a boyfriend would do, wasn't it? Buying you candy? "Really, they are amazing. I can't wait to watch you take the first bite." He'd said eagerly, but he quickly rubbed his hand on the back of his neck when he realized how _odd_ that sentiment was.

Still, Hermione obliged and tried one of the caramel creams, biting into the chocolate daintily. Hermione couldn't stop the moan that left her mouth at the decadence of the flavor hitting her tongue. Marcus was certainly right that they were delicious. Only, he couldn't quite meet her eye after she'd finished it off, licking the melted chocolate off of her finger tips.

Once they were back out in the cold, Hermione looked up at Marcus hopefully. "Shall we head off to the Three Broomsticks, then?"

"Yeah, I could go for a butterbeer...and some food, actually." They'd been walking over all day, and they hadn't gotten anything more substantial to eat than the chocolates. "I think they are making fish and chips now. That's muggle right?"

Hermione nodded, before telling him all about what fish and chips were, all the while he was practically salivating about how good it sounded. She, however, was not focused on lunch, but rather Marcus's bare hand swinging next to his body. She wanted nothing more than to hold his hand now, in front of all of their classmates, but she was worried about what his reaction would be. What if she'd horribly misread the whole situation? But, no, when she really looked at him, it was evident that Marcus had put a lot of thought into his own appearance that way, almost as if he was trying to impress her himself.

Deciding that she would never know unless she just went for it, Hermione tried to gather every ounce of her Gryffindor courage. Her heart was pounding against her rib cage, and she couldn't hear anything over the sound of her blood rushing through her ears. Her palms were sweaty, but she just needed to _go for it_.

Reaching forward, she caught his hand in her own, finding it quite fascinating how well her hand fit in his, despite their vast differences in size. To her vast relief, Hermione felt his fingers tighten around his, and the sounds of the village had started to bleed back into her consciousness. She was very aware that Marcus had stopped talking mid-thought, but he didn't seem to know _what_ he wanted to talk about at this point.

Cautiously, she glanced up at him out of the corner of her eyes, and she could see his cheeks were a ruddy pink. He was _blushing!_ But, really blushing. He'd seem to have been doing that pretty much every time that he looked at her today, and it only made Hermione feel more confident that they _were_ on a date.

He didn't let her hand go until they found a table in the Three Broomsticks, and then he went to order their food and drinks at the counter. "I only got one order of fish and chips." Marcus told her when he returned, gulping down half his butterbeer in one go. "I hope that you don't mind sharing with me."

Hermione gave him a broad smile. Oh, sharing things! That was such a coupley thing to do. How was it possible that everyone at school had known that she and Marcus were dating without her realizing it herself? It seemed so obvious to her now. "Of course I don't mind Marcus. I'm not terribly hungry anyway after eating so much chocolate."

Some of the nervous energy that had existed between them seemed to fade away. "So much chocolate? Witch, you only had one piece!" Marcus teased her. Still, Hermione was a tiny witch so she rarely ate huge portions of food like the Three Broomsticks had. She was perfectly content to just have a few bites of his. Dinner at the castle wasn't far off.

After they'd eaten their food, passing the time discussing the first task, and Harry's strategy for outsmarting the dragon - Marcus had been _very_ impressed with her friend's flying - it was finally time to return to the castle. They found an empty carriage easily enough.

Hermione made sure to snuggle up next to Marcus, since she didn't know when she'd get the opportunity next away from prying eyes. She laced her fingers in between his, and reveled in the feeling of him tightening his hold on her hand. The whole while that they inched closer and closer to the castle, Hermione was hoping, wishing that Marcus might give her a kiss. Her eyes traced the line of his lips, and she couldn't stop from imagining what it would feel like to have her first kiss with Marcus. She was sure that he would be gentle and make sure that it was enjoyable for her.

In her distracted state, though, they arrived at the castle much faster than she expected, kissless. Trying not to let disappointment ruin their excellent date, Hermione knew that she would get the chance to kiss him when the moment was right.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Thank you all so so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! Babes! I know that it has been so long since I updated this! I've been trying to finish up Red Right Hand and Over the Hills and Far Away but now I will be done with those this weekend, and I can focus on working on this! Expect regular updates to resume :) You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.

Please let me know what you thought of chapter eleven and be on the lookout for chapter twelve soon!

* * *

Hermione sighed, putting her books down in front of her on the library table, settling in for another night of research. She seemed to have less time this year than ever, trying to split her time between maintaining her excellent grades, helping Harry prepare for the first task of the Triwizard's tournament which she had only just learned involved a dragon in some way, and spend some time with her boyfriend, Marcus Flint.

 _Boyfriend._

Oh, she still sighed when she heard that word. She never would have imagined that the wonderful relationship that she had Marcus had forged when she was just a first year would have blossomed into something as wonderful as a relationship. She was a little bit embarrassed that everyone seemed to have known that they were dating before she did. Of course, it would have been nice for Marcus to ask her, you know, officially, but she was just happy to keep spending time with him.

Since they'd gone to Hogsmeade together, Hermione had been eager to take their relationship to the next level, but they couldn't seem to get any time _alone_ together. Sure, they always had the library, but anytime Hermione worked up enough courage to walk around the table and just kiss him already, Madame Pince would swoop around the corner, shooting suspicious looks this way and that. Hermione swore that woman must have some kind of sixth sense about amorous students in the library.

That evening she was alone in the library. Marcus had told her that he was going to be running some drills with Adrian, seeing as it was both their intentions to complete some trials for various Quidditch squads in a few months, once school was over. Hermione wanted to be supportive of her boyfriend, and so she told him to stop by if he got a chance, but it was alright if he was too busy, even though thoughts of the future always made Hermione feel a little bit down. She didn't want to think about what would happen to their relationship when he was off playing all over the country and all around the world, too. Of course, she hoped that their relationship would be strong enough, but she also knew that it would be difficult. Well, they would cross that bridge when they got there.

Opening up her most recent book about dragon behavior, trying to figure the best way for Harry to fight down his dragon, Hermione settled in, hoping to get through a lot while Marcus wasn't there to distract her with his strong biceps and shy smile. She wasn't sure how long it was that she had been reading there, but eventually, a shadow broke her concentration.

Thinking that it must be Marcus, Hermione smiled broadly, slowly looking up. "I didn't think you were going to be able to- Oh!" Hermione recognized the young man standing in front of her easily. Even if the school hadn't been abuzz with the fact that Krum was the Durmstrang champion, she also had three very Quidditch obsessed boys for friends. Krum was a phenomenal young seeker for the Bulgarian national team - well, at least that is what Marcus is always saying. "You are Krum."

The boy was large, maybe a little bit shorter than Marcus, but he was definitely more slender, leaner than Marcus was, having more of a seeker's build. His face was overshadowed by two bushy black eyebrows that matched the black hair on his head. He seemed to have a perpetual five o'clock shadow, which made it difficult to believe that he was still meant to be in school. He looked really quite grumpy, only to have his face completely transformed into something more handsome when he smiled. "Please, call Viktor." He said in slightly broken English, pressing his hand against his chest.

"Viktor." Hermione repeated, wondering just what kind of twilight zone that she'd fallen into that this international Quidditch star was talking to her. Oh, Ron would have a whole litter of kneazles now if he could see it. Too bad she still wasn't speaking to him, and couldn't tell him herself. "Can I help you with something?"

"You are Herm-ninny Granger?" He questioned.

"Hermione. Her-my-oh-knee." She corrected him. She hoped that he wouldn't take offense at the way that she couldn't keep the slight smile off of her face. English wizards had a hard enough time pronouncing her name, so she didn't expect a Bulgarian speaker to get it right on the first go round.

"Herm-o-ninny." He repeated after her, before smiling again. "I look for book. Boy," he wrenched his thumb over his shoulder, indicating the general location of where Roger Davies was sitting, "said you help me." He shoved a scrap of paper into her hand from his own sweaty one, before rocking back on his feet, waiting for her to read it.

She looked down at her hand for a moment, before opening up the piece of paper, her eyebrows furrowing together. On the sheet was the name of a book on the topic of astronomy, actually. What was most surprising, though, was the level that the book was. It was definitely out of reach for nearly all the students at Hogwarts. "This is quite advanced." Hermione told him.

"I like stars." Viktor told her with a shrug of his shoulders, a slight blush on his cheeks.

Suddenly, she felt horrible for the way that her words must have come across. "Oh, Viktor, I am sorry, I didn't mean to say that it was _too_ advanced for you. I was just surprised. Most people at Hogwarts don't even know that this book exists." She felt horrible that she had suggested that he wasn't intelligent enough to read the book. Yes, he played Quidditch, but that didn't preclude him from being smart. "Of course I can help you find the book, follow me."

She led him through the stacks and stacks of library books, trying to point out here and there what the general sections were, but eventually making her way into the Astronomy section. They walked down the row together, until Hermione spied the book that he was looking for. Stopping, she pulled the book from the shelf, before turning to hand it to him. To her shock, he was standing much closer to her than she expected. "Here you go." She said with a blush, not used to having a boy stand so close to her.

"Thank you, Herm-o-ninny." Viktor said with another smile, again transforming his face into something more handsome. Hermione could definitely see why Viktor had something of a "fan club" that always seemed to be following her. "I walk you back to table." He informed her.

Hermione blinked at him in surprise, but chalked it up to him not being very comfortable with the English language yet. Still, she was happy to have some company on the way back to the table. Viktor was trying very hard to make small talk with her, asking her questions about her own interests in astronomy, and even made her laugh once.

By the time that they made it back to the table, Hermione had decided that she rather liked the Quidditch player, and was excited at having made a new friend, even if he still couldn't pronounce her name correctly. "Thank you, Herm-o-ninny. I see you again soon." He said seriously, maintaining an intense eye contact, before he turned to leave, carrying his book with him.

* * *

Marcus had flown around with Adrian for nearly three hours before he finally called it quits. Adrian had smirked at him, before telling him to go. "Go on to, Hermione then." He said, waving his hand aside. "Just make sure that you shower yourself first."

"Was it that obvious?" Marcus asked with a grimace as he rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed at being so transparent. It was true though, that he'd wanted to spend at least a little time with Hermione before bed.

"Only because I know you so well." Adrian confirmed. "But, you don't need to be embarrassed. You two are good together." His brown haired friend informed him.

Marcus was shocked to hear that Adrian somehow thought that he was together with Hermione. Of course they spent a lot of time together, but they weren't in a relationship. The thought of it made his heart skip a bit. It was no secret that Hermione had grown quite attractive, and he'd maybe even had a little bit crush on the Gryffindor girl, if he was honest with himself. "We aren't together." He insisted.

"Really?" Adrian asked with a little laugh, as though he didn't believe Marcus. "Go on, go clean yourself up so that you can woo your woman." He insisted, showing Marcus off of the pitch.

Deciding that it wasn't worth it to argue with Adrian when he thought he was right, Marcus did make his way to the showers, taking the fastest shower he ever had, all in his haste to get to the library and to see Hermione. Even though they weren't together didn't mean that he didn't want to spend time with her. When he finally made it to their usual table, Marcus was disappointed to see that she wasn't alone.

He was even more horrified to see that she was with Viktor bloody Krum, laughing, and even swatting him on the arm once. If he needed any proof that he and Hermione _weren't_ together, well, this was bloody it. How could he even hope to compete with someone like Viktor Krum, a Triwizard champion and a professional Quidditch player at only eighteen? He hated the vile feeling of jealousy that settled into his stomach and made it's home there.

Waiting until the other man had left Hermione alone, Marcus made his way over to the table, and pulled out his chair. "Hey pipsqueak." He said, hoping that Hermione didn't detect the way that his voice sounded down. He didn't think he could handle telling her that he was bloody jealous that she'd rather be with Krum than with him.

"Marcus!" She said, rewarding him with a bright smile that would normally have his heart skipping a beat. "I am so glad that I got to see you today. I was beginning to think that you'd be out with Adrian until midnight." She teased. When Marcus didn't respond, Hermione's smile faltered for a minute. "Well, I am just about finished her for the night. Walk be back to Gryffindor?" She asked hopefully.

He must be a glutton for punishment, because he found himself agreeing. She'd asked him to walk her back to the tower, not Krum, so that was a positive, even though he was positive that she was just looking for company, not romance. He waited for her to collect everything in her bookbag, before taking it on his own arm. Even if he wasn't her romantic interest, he was still a good pureblood boy, and tried to do the chivalrous thing.

Walking out of the library, Hermione happily chatted along with him while he led her back to the tower, and if she noticed that he was unusually taciturn, she didn't say anything. Instead, she cautiously reached out her hand, lacing her fingers between his again, before giving him a shy smile. Her face looked so beautiful, turned up to his, her big brown eyes locked on his. This time his heart wrenched painfully. It was almost too much to have this kind of affection with her, knowing that she was only interested in him as a friend, but honestly it made him feel so good that he couldn't stop her.

Too soon, they were standing in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady, and Hermione had turned to face him. "I wish that we got to spend a little more time together tonight, Marcus." Hermione said, looking up at him with hope in her eyes. He thought that he saw her eyes dart to his lips, but he knew that he must be dreaming.

Instead, he gave her a nod. "Yeah, we've both been busy lately. Maybe we could do something this weekend?" He offered, thinking that it might be nice to go for a walk around the grounds for a change of scenery, seeing as they mostly met at the library.

What he said must have been the magic words, because Hermione rewarded him with a brilliant smile. "Great, I'd really like that Marcus." She said, her cheeks turning a bit pink. She gave him one last look, eyebrows together as though she might _do_ something, before she lost her nerve. Instead she wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly, pressing her face against his chest. "Night Marcus! See you tomorrow!"

Marcus nodded, watching her disappear into the portrait before swearing under his breath, getting an admonishment from the Fat Lady, before he turned tail and headed back down to the dungeons, wondering just what he was going to do about this.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! I am so glad that you guys are still enjoying this story, and that you liked Viktor showing up. He's going to be here from time to time. You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.

Please let me know what you thought of chapter twelve and be on the lookout for chapter thirteen soon!

* * *

When Marcus had suggested that they go for a walk around the grounds, Hermione was only too thrilled at the prospect. She'd been wanting to go a bit further with him, to finally have her first kiss with him, but she knew that that was likely never going to happen in the library under Madame Pince's watchful eye. She wondered if Marcus was ready to take it to that next level as well, and that was why he'd suggested it.

She met him at the gates of the school after breakfast on Saturday, bundled up in what she hoped Marcus found to be an attractive outfit. She'd gone for jeans again, because, well, she wasn't blind, and she saw the way that his eyes tended to drift downwards when she was wearing them. She'd paired it with a cozy sweater and jacket on top. Marcus was dressed casual as well, well, only as casual as wizards could be, she supposed, wearing trousers and a button down shirt.

Hermione greeted him with a hug. "Wow, you look great, Marcus." She told him before taking him by the hand and starting off on a walk. "It's so great to get out and about today, isn't it?" She breathed in the cool autumn air, trying to enjoy it while she could. Soon, it would be snowing and that would mean no more long walks like this. It was far too cold in the winter. Though, she was a little bit excited at the prospect of getting warmed up with Marcus.

She blushed at the thought and hoped that he didn't notice. It was odd to be taken over by such fanciful thoughts when she was used to just being so serious most of the time, but it seemed as if Marcus flipped a particular switch in her brain. And, she was a teenage girl, after all.

The pair of them made small talk for a while, before Marcus asked her something that caught her a bit off guard. "So, I've noticed Krum hanging around you for a while." He said, keeping his eyes pointed forward towards the Quidditch pitch. "Are you...friends with him now?" He stumbled over his words, as though he wasn't sure exactly what he wanted to call Viktor.

Hermione turned to look up at his face, to try and read what was going on in his head. Part of her hoped that he might be jealous of Viktor for talking to her, but she didn't think that was very likely. It was probably just that he wanted to talk to a professional Quidditch player to get some advice ahead of his own trials. "I suppose you could say that Viktor and I are friends now." Marcus made a little noise that Hermione had no hope of interpreting, so she took it as an invitation to keep talking. "He asked me for help finding a book on astronomy, and then he came back a few days later to thank me again, and to give me a book suggestion, after we talked a bit about it."

The pair of them walked side by side for a few beats of silence, but when Marcus still didn't say anything, Hermione decided to keep talking about her odd encounter with Viktor. It wasn't unusual for her to be the one really driving the conversation when she was with Marcus. "He's actually quite intelligent you know? I wouldn't have guessed that."

"Why? Because he's a Quidditch player?" Marcus asked, definitely sounding a bit bitter. His shoulders hunched up a bit to protect him from the cool breeze.

"Oh, no!" Hermione told him, shaking her head. She felt horrible all of a sudden at the prospect that she'd offended her friend, insinuating that Quidditch players must all be some big, stupid jocks. She knew that it wasn't true, and even Marcus did quite well in herbology. "I know that Quidditch players can be smart. I just meant more because of...well, it sounds a bit shallow...but, because of how he looks. He's got a bit of a neanderthal look about him. And, he doesn't speak much, but I suppose that must be the language barrier."

Marcus wasn't able to stand talking about Viktor Krum for another minute, and was grateful when they stopped in front of the broom sheds. "It's been awhile since you let me take you flying. Fancy a ride?" He asked her.

Hermione bit her lower lip, thinking on it. She _did_ know how to fly a broom, but she never quite felt comfortable on it. "I don't know, Marcus."

"Come on, I promise that I won't let anything bad happen to you." He said, pressing a hand to her shoulder. "I am an excellent flyer. It will be fun." His voice was confident enough that it had her giving in with very little persuasion, nodding her head and waiting for him to pick up his broom.

Once she was climbing on the back with him, though, Marcus could have cursed himself for the position that he'd put himself in. She wrapped her arms around his chest tightly, pressing every inch of her body against his, her face buried into his back. He knew that it was probably preposterous, but he could swear that he could feel the swell of her breasts pressed into his back as well, even through two layers of jacket and sweater.

Trying to gain control of his body's natural reaction to her, he kicked off from the ground, letting the cool air against his face cool off his blood. He focused all of his attention on making sure that he kept the ride smooth and exciting for her. She'd entrusted herself onto his broomstick, and he wasn't about to break that trust just because he got distracted and took too deep of a dive on accident. He took her around the school once, and around the Black Lake, smiling and her little sounds of delight.

"I never knew that the Black Lake could look so pretty." Hermione said in awe of the water. With the cool autumn wind, the water was a little bit choppy, but it also looked dazzling from the afternoon sun.

"Would you like to go down there?" Marcus asked, waiting for her agreement, before he tilted the broom down to land on a little patch of land near the lake. He helped her off of the broom with ease, trying not to laugh when she stumbled a bit. It should be unfair to be so cute whilst doing something so uncoordinated.

Hermione looked around the little clearing they were in and found that it was isolated enough that they weren't likely to be disturbed. This was it, she thought to herself. Marcus was finally going to kiss her. After all, why would he go through all the trouble of bringing her to such a gorgeous location if he hadn't had this all planned? She went to go stand by him, looking out over the lake, her heart pounding against her chest in excitement. Her hand cautiously reached out to tangle with his fingers, loving the way that he would automatically lock fingers with her now.

She stared out over the water, listening to every crash of the waves, waiting for him to make some kind of move. She was so attuned to every minute movement that he made, longing for something to finally happen, but it never did. Hermione felt skittish, on edge, and uncomfortable. Wasn't he going to do something?

Finally, he opened his mouth to speak, slight blush on her cheeks. "Well, shall we head back to the castle now?"

Her shoulders dropped immediately in disappointment. Hermione was absolutely _desperate_ for Marcus to kiss her. She'd spent so much time with him so far, and all she got were brief hugs and hand-holding. She wanted more.

Marcus was a pureblood, raised with pureblood ideals, so she knew that meant he was likely just trying to be a gentleman. She was a bit younger than him, and he probably just didn't want to push her or pressure her into something that she didn't want. Honestly, it was a bit sweet that he was looking out for her so much. So, Hermione decided, it was obvious that she was going to have to be the one to set the pace of their relationship, clearly. If she wanted a kiss, she was going to have to be bold.

"No, I don't think I am quite ready to leave yet." Hermione said, hoping that her voice didn't shake with nervous. "Marcus, I...I want you to kiss me."

She licked her lips unconsciously, drawing all of his attentions to her plump lower lip, looking rather enticing. Marcus was rather stunned by her words, wondering just what fortune he'd gotten that his friend who he was really rather attracted to, asking him to kiss her. "Are, are you sure?" He asked, uncertain of himself.

Hermione smiled broadly up at him. "Yes, I can't think of anyone who I'd rather have be my first kiss." She said a bit breathlessly, her cheeks turning pink at the confession that she was still unkissed. "I know that you'll be a gentleman and go slow." She clarified, wanting to thank him for being so respectful of her in their relationship.

Marcus schooled his face, not wanting to show his disappointment at her words. Of course, she just wanted someone to practice kissing with, so that she didn't make a fool of herself in front of Viktor Krum when she eventually went to kiss him. It was nearly enough to shatter his heart to realize that Hermione didn't actually want _him_ and was just relying on their friendship for him to teach her how to kiss properly.

Still, looking at her huge, brown eyes, boring into his own, seeming so _bloody_ hopeful, he found that he was helpless to say no to her. Marcus wasn't an idiot. He knew that there might never be a chance for him to kiss Hermione again, and well, he decided that kissing her would be better than always wondering what it was like. "Okay." He said, his voice definitely shaking from the emotion.

He took a jerking step forward, gently cupping her jaw with one hand, while the other pressed her curly hair back from her face. He watched as her eyes slipped shut, and her lips parted a bit in anticipation, and her whole body was poised, just waiting for him to swoop in. He bent down, and before he could think about it any more, he pressed his lips against hers.

Being kissed was unlike anything that Hermione had expected. It wasn't the gentle touch of lips, but rather, Marcus rather charged right ahead, pressing his wind chapped lips against hers fiercely, as though he were trying to hold her in place so that they didn't go away. Her lower lip was pressed between his, but he didn't try to take it any further. Her head was spinning with sensation, every cell in her body so completely attuned to his.

And then, just as quickly as it started, he was pulling away from her, his blue eyes looking at her rather nervously. It took her approximately five seconds to decide that she wanted to do that again and again and again.

Pressing up onto her tiptoes, Hermione grabbed Marcus around the neck, pulling him back down for another kiss, before he tried to get it into his head that they were moving too fast. This time she slowly parted her lips, waiting for him to do the same until their breaths mingled with one another. Shyly, she pressed her tongue against his, surprised by the zing that she felt up her spine when they pressed together. It was as though something in him snapped at that moment, because he was kissing her deeply then, his own tongue sliding in a sensuous dance against hers, making her body throb all over.

Marcus tasted like minty, though the scent of him in her nostrils was like spice and leather. Her heart was beating faster than she could ever remember, but she never wanted the moment to end, not even when she got a bit light headed from the lack of oxygen. No, she wanted to stay here, exploring Marcus, hearing the groan that she pulled from his body, his hands pressed into her hair holding her against his muscled body, forever.

Hermione grew bolder the longer that the kiss went on, and she could feel her body rather turning to jelly, until she was leaning against him, only held up by his arms. It seemed too good to be true that her first kiss should be quite so wonderful. Suddenly, she didn't feel so embarrassed to not have had stories to trade with Lavender or Parvati about who she'd kissed. Nothing could have been better than this first kiss.

When they finally broke apart - it could have been minutes or maybe even hours - Hermione couldn't stop the giggle from bubbling up in her chest. She grinned at Marcus, her lips bruised and swollen, taking his hand in hers once again, while she caught her breath. "Okay, now we can head back to the castle." She told him, reluctantly.

Her mind was already wondering when the next would be that they could kiss again.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! I am so glad that you guys enjoyed the kiss! Just to note, this fic is going to earn it's rating and it will get progressively more physical, so if that's not your thing, well, this is your warning, I suppose. You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates, and answer questions.

Please let me know what you thought of chapter thirteen and be on the lookout for chapter fourteen soon!

* * *

Hermione wasn't entirely sure of when it happened, but Harry and Ron had repaired their relationship and they were now pretending as if nothing had ever happened. She was sure that it had something to do with Harry actually facing the dragon. Hermione had never been so terrified in her life for another person, and she hoped that Ron could let go of his petty jealousy and finally believe that Harry _did not_ want to be in the Triwizards tournament.

Still, it was odd for them to have suddenly speaking to her again as if it was nothing out of the ordinary, as if they hadn't been pressing her to pick a side. It was odd to have them suddenly interested in her life again.

"Hermione, what's our Charms assignment again?" Ron asked, his mouth stuffed with a spoonful of porridge, making Hermione feel rather nauseous.

"Um, just one foot on banishing charms." Hermione said, before turning her conversation to Harry. "So, Harry have you had any more luck with the egg. I know that you have a lot of time before the second task, but the sooner you get it figured out, the sooner we can begin preparing you for the task."

"Honestly, Hermione, no." Harry said with a bit of an edge to his voice. "I haven't been able to figure out how to get past the screeching. It gives me a bit of a headache every time I try to open it."

Hermione pursed her lips together, wondering how to get to the bottom of it. "Hmm, well there must be _some_ way to crack it. I mean, they wouldn't give you an impossible clue." She gave Harry's stricken face a reassuring look. "We just need to try looking at it a different way. Maybe I will go to the library this afternoon and do a bit more research in the library about the history of the tournament." Across the Great Hall she spied Marcus staring at her, and she couldn't resist giving a him a little wave and a shy smile.

Ron snorted. "Yeah, how much research are you really going to be doing? More like ogling over that troll, Flint." Her friend scowled at her, rather taking Hermione aback. She had no idea where that animosity is coming from.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Hermione asked, feeling her body go stiff.

Ron scoffed at her. "Don't play dumb, Hermione. We know that you spend practically all of your time in the library with Flint. How much do you actually even study there with him?"

Hermione was so annoyed that he was accusing her of...well, what she wasn't sure. It wasn't as though it was any secret that she was spending time in the library the same way that she had been the prior three years. He was her _friend_ and that was never going to change. "So? Marcus is my friend and I am allowed to spend time talking and studying with him."

"Sure, that's _all_ you do with him." Ron pushed away his plate and stood up. "Mate, I'm not that hungry anymore. See you in the common room later?" He asked Harry, not even trying to say goodbye to Hermione.

She turned to face her green eyed friend once he was gone. "What's gotten into him?" She asked, hurt that he was already trying to make her miserable when they'd only even been talking again for a few days.

"Oh, don't mind him, Mione." Harry said, finishing up his own breakfast. "He's just jealous." He looked down at his half-eaten breakfast, not really wanting to make eye contact with her either. Hermione was wondering when her two other best friends got so _complicated_. She tried to remember that they were, well, in the process of growing up too, and she tried to give them a little leeway.

"What would he have to be jealous of?" Hermione asked him, though, thinking that it was a rather odd thing for Harry to say. She decided on chalking it up to Ron just being jealous that she had other people to talk to besides him and Harry.

"Err, I don't know." Harry said standing up. "Hey, I suppose I will go give that dragon egg a second look. Let me know if you find anything useful in the library, okay?"

* * *

Hermione was glad that she finally asked Marcus to kiss her. It was as though a light had been switched inside of her, though, and now it was practically all that she could think about. She was mostly able to study in the library with her boyfriend, keeping her hands to herself, but occasionally, she couldn't take it anymore. She would take one look at his dark hair or his blue eyes, or the way that the muscles in his forearm jumped while he held his quill. She wouldn't be able to help herself and would ask him to go for a walk, finding alcoves to slip into, so that she could press her lips into his once again.

Marcus was never the one to make the first move, perhaps still so concerned about pushing her to move too fast at the beginning of their relationship. Still, as soon as she would wrap her arms around her neck, something inside him would snap and he would take her mouth, greedy, demanding, dominating. It was enough to send a thrill up and down her spine every time it happened.

He was so strong, and to know that he was still so gentle with her, when really, he could have snapped her in half like a twig, was really endearing to her. She knew how tough he played on the Quidditch pitch, and to know that it was the same person who would cup her jaw so gently, his thumb rubbing against her bottom lip would send her heart fluttering wildly in her chest. It just showed her how much he really cared about her.

The only problem with sneaking around and looking for alcoves to hide in meant that they never really had much privacy. Professors and prefects were always looking to break up amorous couples, but with the new influx of students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang meant that it was even more difficult to find a spot to be alone. Which meant that they weren't able to do more than kiss. And Hermione _really_ wanted to do more than kiss. She'd been pressed up against his chest more times than enough to want to get a peek at what lie under his shirt.

It was on a Thursday afternoon, that she found herself voicing that opinion to Marcus. They had been wandering on all of the floors of the castle, Marcus trailing behind her like a little puppy, while Hermione lead him to all the usual spots, only to find them already occupied. "Oh, I wish that there was somewhere we could go...some place that just you and I knew about." Hermione told him, a thought that had been running through her head basically all morning.

Before she knew it, though she heard a quiet little pop, and turned her head. "Was that door just there?" Marcus asked her, blinking his eyes several times as though it had appeared out of thin air.

Hermione supposed that it might have done just that. "I don't think so. Maybe the school heard my wish and made a space for us?" She suggested, feeling slightly giddy at the prospect that the school somehow approved of their relationship. It was sentient after all. Reaching her hand forward for the knob, she gave Marcus a mischievous grin. "Shall we open it?"

She didn't wait for an answer, and instead opened it anyway. She was embarrassed by the rather girly squeal that left her throat, seeing what was inside. There was a rather comfortable looking couch sitting across from an empty fireplace. The walls were covered in books and it rather looked like Hermione's dream living room if she was honest. "Wow, what do you think this place is?" She asked him, not hesitating to light a fire in the fireplace, because the room was rather drafty.

Marcus was looking around the room in similar awe, before his eyes settled on the rather comfy looking couch in the center of it. "Um, maybe it was an old Professor's office. We are pretty close to the Astronomy tower, after all. And, Sinistra was a Slytherin, so she prefers to keep her office in the dungeon."

Hermione nodded in agreement. She stared at Marcus, with a hopeful smile on her face. He looked so awkward standing there in the middle of the room, as though he didn't know what to do. "Well, the castle must have listened to my wish. Do you want to...?"

Grabbing his hands, she led him to the couch, before sitting next to him on it. She didn't hesitate to lean in for a kiss, sighing once he responded to her, his tongue parting her lips to tangle with hers. She let him lead the way, loving how he always seemed to know exactly what to do to leave her feeling rather delicious all over. She would squeeze her legs together and her breasts would ache from the need to be touched, and Merlin, she wanted him to touch her.

It wasn't long until she noticed him clenching his hand at his side, a sign that Hermione understood to mean that he wanted to do more, but was holding himself back. Again, she realized that she was going to have to set the pace of the physical side of the relationship.

Cautiously, she reached out and grabbed his hand by the wrist, before pulling it towards her, placing it against her breast. Marcus immediately broke the kiss, cheeks flushed and pupils blown with desire. "Hermione, what, I -"

She giggled, seeing that he was practically incoherent. "Don't worry, Marcus. I want you to." She told him, reassuringly, before concern started to fill her. "I mean, that is, if you want to...touch me, you can."

"No, I want to -" He quickly responded, his cheeks blushing deeper, but he didn't finished he thought. Instead, his hand cautiously palmed the flesh in his hand, almost as though he were mesmerized. Hermione used shaking hands to unbutton the top few buttons of her blouse, so that his hand could slip inside, though they were still separated by the fabric of her bra. Her nipples were so hard against the nude cotton that they were plainly visible, leading Hermione to blush, but Marcus just seemed fascinated. He used his thumb to slide against the sensitive bud, causing her to moan in surprise.

 _That_ seemed to get his attention, and then he was kissing her again, fiercely, his hand never leaving her breast, though his fingers did dip into the cup of the bra. The sensation was better than anything Hermione could have imagined, his large hands so calloused and rough from playing Quidditch.

But, it wasn't just about her, and Hermione really wanted to know what Marcus looked like himself. Her fingers caught the starchy fabric of his uniform shirt, and just as she was about to undo one of the buttons, she pulled back. "Marcus, can I...could I...would you mind terribly, if I took off your shirt?" She asked finally.

He was helpless to do anything but nod. As she worked the buttons from their little holes, he kept his arms down at his sides, stiff, as though he were too afraid to move. With the shirt open, she was eager to push the sleeves down and off of his arms, wanting to get the full look at him. Only once he was completely bare did she allow herself to look at him fully.

She was amazed by how broad he seemed. He shoulders seemed to go on endless, his arms framing the sides. It was the first time that she got to look at his biceps properly, and she couldn't stop herself from reaching out to touch one. She giggled when the muscles of his arms jumped under the skin at her touch. She smoothed her hand across his chest, his skin a bit tanner than her's, unblemished and soft. He had only a smattering of dark hair between his pectorals, and she let her fingers touch it briefly.

Her hands continued to chart the planes of his body. Marcus had well defined abs, not quite like a muggle model would have, but more functional. She didn't think that she'd ever been so glad that Quidditch existed in her life. Her fingers dipped against each of the ridges before circling around his belly button. He had more dark hair there, leading down from his belly, where it grew coarser and more plentiful, and it disappeared into his trousers -

Just as her fingers had reached his pants, his hand had darted out and captured her wrist, pulling her back away from her. "Salazar, pipsqueak. You are kind of killing me here." He whined, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment or arousal, she didn't know. Looking down, it was easy to see the tenting in his pants that proved to her that he had _really_ like what she was doing. It wasn't as though she hadn't felt _it_ before, but it was certainly the closest she'd gotten to his erection so far.

Knowing that they had gone a lot further today than they ever had, Hermione nodded, knowing that she didn't want to move too fast with him, just because she got swept up into the moment. She wanted to be sure before they took any more steps together.

"Sorry, Marcus, I got a little carried away." Hermione said, before pressing one last lingering kiss to his lips. "We should probably get going anyways, it's nearly curfew." She got to work buttoning up her own blouse, while he put his shirt back on. Even though they'd stopped their explorations, Hermione still had seen a lot more of Marcus than she ever had - and she liked it. She was sure _that_ would give her enough to daydream about until they were ready to move on to the next step.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! I am so glad that you are enjoying this, even the awkward situation that they find themselves in. Again, things are going to keep progressing with their relationship. You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates, and answer questions!

Please let me know what you thought of chapter fourteen and be on the lookout for chapter fifteen soon!

* * *

Hermione had been flying on cloud nine with having Marcus as her boyfriend. She wondered frequently how he could possibly be so suited to her, on account of them being so different. They had almost nothing in common, but they still managed to find endless things to talk about while they were together, and not just school work either. She was sure that was why their relationship had worked so well too - because they were such good friends _first_ and only started to take things more physical when they had a proper foundation laid.

Still, thinking about what might happened when they were done with school, with Marcus going off to some professional squad made Hermione feel a bit down. Hermione was positive that he would be able to make a Quidditch squad, though he was always rather nervous that it wouldn't actually come true. Would he still remember his girlfriend, holed up in a boarding school is Scotland? Or perhaps he would suggest that they take a break. After all, she was positive he would have loads of girls after him if he was a professional player. That's what it was like with footballers, after all.

Trying to push those negative thoughts from her mind, Hermione wanted to focus on the here and now, and enjoying herself. She had been learning so much with Marcus, not only about how to be intimate with a boy, but just the well...pleasure that her body could feel. They made very good use of their little hidden room on the seventh floor, though Hermione did try to keep them on a proper studying schedule.

She was positive that she could kiss Marcus for the rest of her life, even at the risk of sounding like a rather silly girl. She loved the way that he looked on her. She'd been so embarrassed the first time that she'd taken off her shirt and bra completely, hoping that he still found her attractive now that he knew _exactly_ what was under her robes. To her joy, he'd gone a bit silent, before breathing out an oath to Salazar Slytherin. "Fuck, if you aren't beautiful."

It was mesmerizing to watch his large hands cup her breasts, alternating between his rough touch and tender care. There had even been a time that he'd pressed his lips to the nipple, the tip of his tongue flicking at the pink flesh again and again, until Hermione thought that she just might go mad if he didn't touch her _down there_.

His other hand, which had been resting on the bare flesh of her leg, would creep up under the fabric of her school skirt. Hermione parted her legs then, only to have him snatch back his hand as though she'd burned him. "Please Marcus." Hermione said, looking into his eyes. "You can touch me. I want you to touch me." And she was positive that she wanted him to touch her, more than anything she'd ever experienced. She ached between her legs, always feeling a bit wet, and knowing that if he just touched her _there_ she would feel so much better.

Marcus waffled for a moment, before returning his hand to her center, the tip of his finger sliding up the seam of her lips, before settling on a spot at the top of her sex that had her seeing stars. That felt better than anything she'd felt so far, and even though she longed for her to touch her sodden flesh directly, he never slipped under her knickers. Her hips rocked against his hand of their own accord, almost as if she were looking for something, until she felt a coil of pleasure growing tighter and tighter in her lower belly. She pushed herself to the very edge, and almost by accident, tipped straight over it.

With a gasp and a low wail, Hermione had rode out the oscillations of pleasure, feeling it seep into her body, from the tips of her toes to the end of her nose. It was like floating, falling, and flying all at once.

When she'd opened her eyes, she'd found Marcus studying her, with a very pensive look on his face, almost as though he wanted to memorize that moment forever. She'd wanted to return the favor to him right then and there, and she let her fingers graze his crotch, only to have him pulling back. His face was pained as though it was really difficult to turn down, but he shook his head no. She was a bit disappointed, but also knew that they would get there when he was ready. She thought that perhaps, after the Yule Ball, they could go up to their secret room and spend a bit of alone time together.

Hermione was unreasonably excited for the Yule Ball. As soon as it had been announced, it was really all that the girls could talk about. Normally, Hermione would have scoffed at it, but now that she actually had a boyfriend who she would be going with, she let herself get swept up with some of the silly talk. She couldn't wait to see how handsome Marcus was going to look in formal dress robes, and she rather hoped that he thought she looked nice in her robes. Lavender and Parvati seemed to think that he would be blown away.

She was just wondering who Harry and Ron were going to ask, and wondering if Marcus might want to join their table, or if he'd rather sit with Adrian and his other friends, when she was bumped into by Neville Longbottom on her way to Gryffindor Tower after dinner. He was looking unusually pale, and even a bit sweaty, so she was naturally concerned for him. "Neville, is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He said wringing his hands together before finally taking a deep breath and looking at her squarely. "Um, Hermione, I was wondering...if you might like to go to the Yule Ball with me?"

Hermione's breath left her in surprise. She never in a million years expected that Neville would ask her to the ball. He was a great friend, and she was sure that she would have a good time with him, except...well, she was going to go with Marcus, wasn't she? She thought that the whole school knew that she and Marcus were dating, so she was a little bit surprised that Neville would even ask her in the first place.

Well, Marcus hadn't asked her _yet_ , technically, but she knew that it was just a matter of time. Or maybe he just expected that they would go together, kind of the same way that they had fallen into dating with one another. "Oh, Neville, I am sorry, but I can't go to the Yule Ball with you." She said, biting her lower lip. "It's nothing to do with you, just...I am already going with someone else."

Neville did deflate at hearing her rejection, only to perk up when she mentioned that it was because she was going with someone else. "Oh, of course, I understand Hermione. I didn't realize that you already had a date."

Before they could talk on it much more, Neville shuffled off in embarrassment, likely. Hermione shook her head with a little smile on her face. Of course Neville would be so clueless to be the only person who didn't realize she and Marcus were together!

* * *

Marcus knew that eavesdropping was wrong, but when he heard Hermione talking about the Yule Ball, he couldn't help but stop in his tracks. For the longest time, he thought that there couldn't be anything other than friendship (well, with some benefits) between them, but recently, he'd begun to get his hopes up that maybe he could convince her that they might be good together.

Every time that he kissed her, he could feel a little spark building between them, and he'd developed some pretty strong feelings for her. He was hoping that if he just asked her to the Ball, and showed her a great time, maybe she would open her eyes and see what was standing right in front of her.

He was disappointed to hear that Neville _bloody_ Longbottom was asking her to the dance, but Marcus supposed that the bumbling boy was much less competition than Viktor Krum. Maybe he could still get a few dances with her while he was there.

But then...he strained to hear her response. Was she really rejecting him? "It's nothing to do with you, just...I am already going with someone else." He could hear Hermione saying quietly, but it was as if there was a riot in Marcus's head. He could feel all of his anger and sadness welling up inside of him. Of course that fucking tosser Krum would have already asked her to the Ball! He'd been sniffing around her enough in the library, always making her laugh.

And why wouldn't she want to go to the Ball with Krum? Krum was bigger, better, _smarter_ than him and here he was just showing her exactly how to kiss Krum the whole time. Fuck, that Bulgarian had snuck in and stolen Hermione right from under his nose, not realizing what he really wanted until he was too late. He needed to get out of there, before he did something fucking stupid.

By the time he made it back to his dorm, he was seething with loathing, and he punched the stone wall, groaning at the feel of his knuckle breaking. Well that was stupid, he thought to himself, not only do you have a broken heart, but you have a broken hand too.

Before he could do anything else, Adrian was rushing over to him, grabbing his wrist. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, Marcus, what is going on?" He asked, before lifting his wand to repair the broken bones. They'd both been through enough Quidditch injuries to know how to patch themselves up well enough.

Marcus looked around the room, trying to decide if he should open up to Adrian. He'd been holding everything in regarding Hermione for so long that maybe it was a good idea to open up. Maybe Adrian could talk him out of continuing on with her. Once he was sure that no one else was in the room, he slumped down on his bed. "Hermione is going to the ball with Krum." He said, his voice sounding as miserable as he felt.

Adrian sat down next to him. "Huh. Why would she do that?" He asked. "You guys are dating, right? Did you do something to piss her off? Because I could have given you loads of advice on how to get back together with a witch."

Marcus was genuinely confused. "What? No, Hermione and I _aren't_ dating." Only now, he was just realizing how much he wished that was true.

"Are you sure? Because pretty much the whole school thinks that you are." Adrian said, truly curious about just what was going on. He rounded on his friend. "Hold on, Montague told me that you guys were caught kissing in an alcove just the other month! What's that all about, if you aren't dating?"

"Well, yes, we have kissed." Marcus revealed to his friend, a bright blush on his cheeks at the admission. Salazar, if he wasn't bad at talking about this kind of stuff, though. "She asked me to show her how to kiss her. I figured that she was just using me, using our friendship as kind of...well, practice really. Once she figured Krum was interested in her."

"She wanted you to help her practice kissing?" Adrian asked, sounding a bit dumbfounded. "I can't tell if that sounds _exactly_ like Granger, or not like her at all." He rubbed his chin for a moment before making up his mind. "I don't think that's something that Granger would do. Hear me out, I know that I don't know her very well, but Granger is pretty _emotionally_ invested."

Marcus ran his hand down the front of his face, feeling his anger subside, but just leaving him feeling pretty low. "I dunno, Ade, I can't imagine that she'd...I'm pretty sure that she is just using me for practice. After all, she's going to the Ball with Krum. If she thought we were dating, why would she do that?"

Honestly, Marcus felt like shite. But, he was determined not to let this affect their friendship. Hermione was his best friend and he would just have to pretend like her going with Krum didn't bother him, and then, maybe one day he wouldn't have to pretend anymore. "I guess I will just have to find someone else to go with." He said with a shrug.

Adrian patted him on the shoulder, before standing up to give Marcus some space. "Whatever you think is best." He offered, a bit weakly.

Marcus hoped he was making the right decision.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! I know all of you want to force Hermione and Marcus to just sit down and explain how they feel to one another...that's not happening quite yet! You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates, and answer questions!

Please let me know what you thought of chapter fifteen and be on the lookout for chapter sixteen soon!

* * *

Hermione wasn't quite sure why Viktor had taken such a liking to her, but he had. Whenever he made his way to the Hogwarts library, he made sure to stop by her table and talk with her for a while, sometimes even going so far as to sit down and pull out some of his own essays or work. It was nice because Marcus didn't spend nearly as much time in the library as she did, so she didn't mind the company.

He really was rather smart, and he spoke frequently of what he might like to do when he ended his Quidditch career. "New, better seeker could come any day." He told her, rather solemnly on afternoon in the library. "Better to prepare now." His English got better the more that he spoke with her, and he always seemed grateful for the small corrections she made to his grammar.

In turn, he was trying to teach her a little bit of Bulgarian. She did love learning, so she was willing to soak in whatever he wanted to show her, but one day, she asked him why he seemed so keen to impart his language. "So you write me, when I leave school."

That did seem rather nice, Hermione thought, to have an international penpal, especially once as friendly as Viktor was. He could talk to her about a lot of subjects in a way that Harry and Ron, and even Marcus just couldn't. He had a very fascinating theory that combined the movement of the cosmos with arithmancy that he was still working to develop, and he'd been only too happy to hear what kind of suggestions she had, seeing as arithmancy was something of a specialty to her.

He always seemed to be able to make her laugh as well. Sometimes he would make errors in English that had her trying to hide a giggle behind her hand, only to realize that he was doing it on purpose. He had this way of saying things with such seriousness, only to crack a smile half way through, seeing as he just couldn't keep a straight face. Viktor seemed to really enjoy trying to make her laugh, and if she was honest, he was probably the person who made her laugh the hardest.

Hermione thought it was really nice to have another friend like Viktor.

That was just it though, she really only found Viktor to be _nice_ , but she sometimes caught him staring at her while she read or took notes and it made her a little bit nervous. Hermione knew that he liked her because she didn't turn into a screaming fangirl over him, like so many other girls at Hogwarts, and she was beginning to worry that he might ask her to the Yule Ball, just so he could have a normal night. She had already told Neville that she was going to the dance with someone else, but Marcus still hadn't asked her formally. If Viktor asked her, too, should she say no to him as well?

It was a little bit unusual, she thought, that Marcus still hadn't mentioned the Yule Ball at all. She wondered if perhaps he might ask her what color her dress was, if he wanted to match her, but he was silent, even scowling whenever mention of the grand Ball was brought up in casual conversation. Harry and Ron were beginning to doubt her insistence that she really _did_ have a date.

Deciding that she would have to have a frank talk with him about how she couldn't _always_ be the lead in their relationship, that he would have to take some initiative too, lest she begin to think that she was bossing him into something he didn't even want. But, she didn't want him to just take her for granted either. She wasn't a mind reader, and sometimes he was going to have open up and just tell her what it was he wanted! Hermione figured she would give it another week. Another week for him to give her some kind of sign all her plans for the holiday were going to come true.

* * *

Seeing Hermione laughing in the library once again with bloody Krum had convinced Marcus more than ever that he needed to ask someone else to the Yule Ball. It had never been so bloody obvious that she was going to go to the Ball with Krum - otherwise, why on Earth would she be spending so much time with him? Yes, there was no one that he wanted to go with more than Hermione, but he needed to start trying to move on. It was clear that he felt a lot more about her than she did about him, and to continue to pine over her was just going to make him look pathetic.

The only problem was most of the people he would have normally asked to go to the dance had already partnered up with other people from Slytherin or Durmstrang. He really didn't fancy asking one of the third year Slytherin girls to the dance either. He already felt like enough of a lech hanging out with Hermione all the time, even though she was only three years younger than him.

He would have to look outside of the usual. None of the Beauxbatons girls really piqued his interest, and he was certain that all of them had been asked already anyway. All of the boys in Slytherin were always tittering over how _beautiful_ the Beauxbatons girls were, though, honestly, Marcus never saw what was that great about them in the first place. So that just left other girls from Hogwarts. He asked around quietly, making a mental list of who was still unclaimed, but didn't really find anyone who stood out to him.

Just when he was thinking that perhaps it might be better to just not go to the dance - hide out in his room or maybe sneak down to Hogsmeade to get drunk in a pub - when he happened upon the perfect person to ask to the dance. He found the fifth year girl crying in one of the lesser traveled hallways, her back pressed against the way and her knees drawn up to her chest.

Stopping in front her, Marcus pressed his own back into the wall, before sliding down to sit next to her. "What's got you so upset, Bell?" He asked, trying not to sound so rude, but he was used to hurling insults about her Quidditch skills instead, so it was a bit trying.

Katie Bell looked up at him surprised, as though he were the last person she could imagine asking her that question, and when he thought on it, he probably was. She wiped at her nose and her eyes furiously, embarrassed at being caught snivelling away in some hallway by one of her biggest rivals on the pitch. "What's it to you, Flint?" She sneered back at him.

He sighed, before shrugging his shoulders. "Just thinking that perhaps you and I could help each other out." His response irritated her, he knew, seeing as she was a Gryffindor and they usually preferred to just blurt out whatever it was that they wanted.

She narrowed her blue eyes at him, before scoffing. "What the hell could you ever help me out with Flint?" She questioned, doing nothing to hide her suspicion. "How to find a bludger with my face next season? Oh, that's right. You won't be here to _terrorize_ me next year."

"Hey, now, I don't terrorize you." Marcus said with a roll of his eyes. Wood, yes, he would say he terrorized. But Bell? "And don't act like you Gryffindors are so innocent either."

"You grabbed me by my hair and spun me around!" Katie shouted, a flush coming to her cheeks. It did little to improve her look. It wasn't as though Katie Bell were bad looking, with her flaxen, straight hair and slim figure, just that...she wasn't Hermione.

"Yeah, well you kneed me in the bollocks!" He countered, flinching a bit when he remembered the pain that she inflicted on him. He was beginning to think this was a mistake. He'd seen how uncoordinated she was off a broom, and he was liable to leave the dance with broken toes.

Just when he was thinking of picking up and leaving her to wallow in her own self pity - he had enough for himself, thank you very much - she spoke quietly. "That really was an accident, Flint. And I am sorry." He was rather stunned into silence, but Katie was feeling in a better mood already. "So tell me, truth, what is it that you can help me with?"

"Well, rumor has it that you are all broken up that Wood asked Spinnet to the Yule Ball and not you." He said, trying to be a bit more blunt about it, but it only seemed to enrage Katie.

"Oh really, have you just come to laugh at me then?" She asked, feeling tears well up in her eyes. "And just when I was beginning to think that you were half-way decent, Flint!" She was beginning to stand up, and perhaps leave the conversation right then, before Marcus stopped her.

"No, look, I didn't mean it that way." He said, finally getting her to cool down enough to listen to him. "I just meant...neither one of us can go to the Yule Ball with the person that we would really like to. So maybe we should go together instead."

That was more than enough to catch her attention. She turned to face him, still kneeling on the ground. "Really? I thought that you and Granger would be a thing for sure. Everyone says that the pair of you are dating, though I can't imagine what she would see in you..." Katie said, naturally ready to throw barbs at the Slytherin chaser, only then she saw the way that his shoulders slumped at her words. "That's rough, Flint. So who is Granger going with then?"

"Krum." He said, feeling pretty miserable. Somehow, it seemed so much worse when he was discussing this with Bell rather than Adrian.

"Oh, he's fit. Good for her." Katie said, forgetting for a moment who she was talking to. She cautiously reached a hand out to rest on Marcus's shoulder. "Er, I mean - that tosser! I'm sorry Flint, that is _really_ rough. I really thought that the pair of you were together. I mean, the way that she looks at you..."

"Yeah, well, we're not." Marcus said finally, hating the edge that he had in his voice. He didn't want to scare Katie off before she agreed to go with him, but he also didn't want to sit here discussing his _feelings_ with someone he would likely never speak to again once he graduated that spring. "So listen, do you want to go to the Yule Ball with me or not?"

Katie hmmed and hawed at him for a moment, while she was making up her mind. "Well, I must say that there probably isn't anyone who would piss Olly off more for one of his players to go to the Ball with. Maybe that will make him finally notice me as a girl for once." She pressed her hand into her face. "I feel like I am going to regret this later, but, yes, Flint. I will go to the dance with you."

"Great." Marcus said, hoping that he didn't offend her with his complete lack of enthusiasm at the prospect. He didn't really _want_ to go to the Yule Ball, except to show Hermione that he wasn't some kind of creep that was expecting more out of their relationship than she was willing to give. He'd thought that having a plan of how to handle this would make him feel better, but to his surprise, it didn't.

Instead, all he felt was a sense of impending dread.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! I know that all of you are like bbs plz talk to each other...we are in for a bit more drama, starting now :) You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions!

Please let me know what you thought of chcapter sixteen and be on the lookout for chapter seventeen soon!

* * *

Ever since he'd come to the conclusion that Hermione was likely going to go to the Yule Ball with Viktor Krum, and he'd asked Katie Bell to go with him instead, Marcus wondered just what he was thinking continuing on their more...physical activities. He knew that Hermione was just using him for practice, to show her the ropes as it was, so if he wanted to move on, and spare his heart some agony, he knew he should really tell her that they needed to stop.

But, somehow, he couldn't tell her no whenever she led him through the hallways up to their hidden little room with the couch and the fireplace. Even though it hurt to know that he wasn't really the one that she wanted to be doing this with, there was still some part of him that liked knowing that it was still him who she kissed first. That was something that he could hold on to. And, sometimes, if he let him mind take him away, he could just forget about Viktor Krum and pretend as if it really was him that she wanted.

That was how he found himself that day, with his lips pressed to her neck with her body pressed back against the arm of the couch, and his hand up her skirt. So far, he'd kept everything over her knickers, as though that physical barrier would be enough to keep his heart from being hurt more than it already was. The only problem was, Hermione was not afraid to tell him what she wanted, and he was finding it nearly impossible to say no.

So when he felt her hand on top of his, he didn't stop her from guiding his big hand where she wanted it to go. His breath caught in his throat when he realized she was helping him to slip his fingers _inside_ the front of her knickers. Salazar, he'd been trying to avoid this, mostly to keep a healthy level of separation, but also because he'd never actually touched a bird down there. He was terrified that he was going to mess it up horribly.

The first thing that he noticed was that she was hot, nearly fucking boiling, if he was honest. Cautiously, he let his fingertip slide down her slit, hissing at the wetness that he felt. Merlin, she was so wet, and he'd done that to her. He didn't think that he'd ever felt something quite like this. He found the little bead at the top of her sex easy enough, and cautiously circled his finger around it, unable to hide his smile when she moaned at the touch.

Pulling away from the kiss, he studied her face while he worked her into a fever pitch. Her eyes had slipped closed, and she'd caught her lower lip between her teeth. He was momentarily distracted by the sight of her chest lifting and falling, while she tried to get a handle on her breathing. She was so intriguing to watch, mesmerizing, he thought that he could have watched her do this every day.

Feeling a bit bold, seeing just how good of a job that he was doing, he cautiously dipped one long finger inside of her. "Fuck," he breathed out, feeling how tight she felt around him, and his mind unable and unwilling not to imagine what she might feel like around his cock. Slowly withdrawing, he entered her with the digit again, and again, and again, trying to be careful so as not to hurt her. Using his thumb, he returned to circling her clit in faster paced circles.

"Marcus," her voice sounded like lust. He returned his eyes to her face, enjoying the way that her eyebrows drew together in concentration and her moans died away as if every part of her body was so focused on coming. He knew that she was close, he could feel it, but he wasn't prepared for when it actually happened. He could feel her walls fluttering around his finger, clamping down on him, while she finally breathed out a sigh of pleasure.

Salazar, it was enough to have him seeing stars himself, though he was able to keep a handle on it himself. He wasn't sure how long they stayed there, but eventually Hermione opened up her big doe eyes, and rewarded him with a slow smile.

Hermione pressed a slow kiss to his lips before her hands stroked down his side, ending on the button of his trousers. She'd already gotten them open by the time he was able to react, pushing her hands away. "Marcus," she whined, "please, won't you let me do this for you? I want you to feel as good as I do."

He tried shaking his head, but he could already feel his resolve fading. "Hermione, this is about you."

"I want to, Marcus." She said, sweet look on her face. "Please, won't you show me how to make you feel good?"

Those words were like a punch in the gut, when he was reminded that this was all about him just being a good practice run for her, before she moved on to Krum. Deciding that he should take what little happiness he could get - though he was sure that he would regret it later, and hate himself once again - he groaned, pushing his trousers down his hips. His cock was more than ready to get in on the action and stood proudly for her inspection.

Hermione sucked in her breath at the sight of him, cautiously trailing a fingertip up the underside of it. It was torturous - _almost_ on the side of being too ticklish - but he let her explore, until she was ready to continue. She wrapped her hand around him, looking up at him cautiously. "I don't really know what to do next," she said with a blush on her face.

Marcus brought his hand down on top of her's, showing her how to move her hand up and down his shaft. "Fuck, I - I probably won't last long," he told her, flushed with embarrassment, but touching her had just gotten him so riled up that he couldn't help it.

She just grinned at him, seeming to take it as a challenge, quickly getting a hold of the movement. Hermione was nothing if not a quick study, and she had him devolving into a pile of mush, melting back into the couch. She quickly learned that he particularly enjoyed having the spot just below the tip of it stimulated, and used her thumb to press on it with each upstroke. Before he was about to come himself, he tried to warn her, but it was too late. It was as if his cock had a mind of his own, his hips rocking into her hand as he came, covering her hand in stickiness.

"Fuck, I'm sorry," Marcus apologized, feeling terribly embarrassed by what he'd done, but Hermione already had her wand out and was cleaning the mess away. She looked _extremely_ satisfied with herself, and pressed a little kiss to the tip of his nose. She was too adorable for her own good, Marcus decided, and he felt his anger creep in again that he hadn't told her how he felt _before_ Krum got to her. Maybe then they could have...it did no good to think about the what ifs.

Once they'd both righted their clothing, Marcus offered to walk her back to Gryffindor tower. She happily agreed, though he quickly noticed that she was chewing her lower lip, looking like she wanted to talk about something. He hoped that this wasn't the part that she tried to let him down easily, and reminded him not to get any ideas because she was going to go to the Yule Ball with Krum. Deciding to head her off, he thought that he should casually bring up his date, just to show her that he could still be cool about it. He didn't know if he'd be able to stand it if she stopped being his friend too.

"So, do you know where you are going to be sitting for the Yule Ball? I think that Katie and I are going to be sitting with some of the guys from the Slytherin Quidditch squad." He said off-hand, hoping that it sounded smooth, and not too obvious.

It was impossible not to feel her body stiffen next to his. "Katie?" Hermione squeaked in surprised.

"Yeah, my date," Marcus said, feeling rather proud of himself, for just how good of an acting job he was doing. They were stood in front of the portrait entrance to Gryffindor Tower. "Katie Bell. I think didn't think she'd agree to sit with Adrian and Graham, what with the Quidditch rivalry, but she did. Hey, maybe you will save me a dance, though?" He asked cautiously, hoping that it didn't seem too desperate of a question. That she wouldn't be able to hear how much he'd rather be going to the dance with _her_.

Instead, Hermione just nodded stiffly, before turning and shouting the password at the portrait, heading into the tower, without even saying goodnight. Marcus stood there, feeling a bit dumbfounded on why she left so abruptly. The portrait tsked at him, confusing him even more. Deciding that he wasn't going to figure it out standing there like an idiot, he turned to head back down to the dungeons.

* * *

Hermione sighed, trying to prep herself for the day. She'd spent the entire night crying in her dorm room after Marcus revealed that he was going to the Yule Ball with Katie Bell. Katie was a lovely girl, of course, but Hermione was just so confused. How could Marcus have just let her...give him a handjob, and then tell her that he was going with another girl to the dance? She was his girlfriend!

Or at least that was what she'd thought. _Clearly_ , that was not the actual case, and if Marcus thought that their more amorous activities were going to continue, well then, he had another thing coming. Lavender and Parvati and spent most of the evening consoling her, and telling her that they would help her get ready for the dance so that Marcus would regret ever using her, and they swore to keep the conversation private.

Concerned, Harry and Ron had even sent Ginny up to get the story, which she did share with the redheaded girl. Well, she didn't tell her the _whole_ story. She couldn't imagine what the boys would think if they knew everything. It was nice to have some girlfriends to share her story with, because it did make her feel a little bit better to come clean.

But now, she was faced with the prospect of seeing Marcus in the Great Hall again, and she needed to show him that she wasn't the least bit bothered by it. She didn't want him to get any satisfaction from seeing her so broken up about it. Using a few charms to rid her red-rimmed eyes, Hermione left Gryffindor tower, flanked by fierce looking Harry and Ron on either side, daring anyone to try and hurt her today.

Only to run into none other than Viktor Krum.

"Herm-o-ninny. I speak to you?" He asked her cautiously, looking very nervous.

Hermione gave a little smile to Harry and Ron and told them that she would meet them at breakfast. "Of course, Viktor. What do you need?"

"Will you go to Ball with me?" He asked, his voice shaking a bit, obviously with nerves, while his dark eyes studied her face for any hint of a reaction.

She was fairly stunned by the question, seeing as she never would have expected Viktor to ask her to the ball. After all, he was so very popular and athletic, and well, famous, and she was just plain Hermione Granger. But, she did get along with him rather well, and enjoyed talking to him, and he could always make her laugh, so she found herself agreeing. "I would love to go with you." She told him shyly. Hermione was positive that she would have a good time with him, and it would be the perfect way to show Marcus. He might not want her, but Viktor Krum did.

Viktor bent down, pressing a cautious kiss to her blushing cheek. "Wonderful." He said, before offering her his arm. "I escort you to breakfast." He pronounced, his chest puffing out in pride.

Hermione sighed, taking his offered arm. This was exactly the way that a boyfriend _should_ act, she decided. Viktor wasn't worried or afraid about being seen with her, and walked with her proudly on his arm. She was still rather heartbroken over the way that Marcus had treated her, but maybe this wouldn't be quite so bad with Viktor at her side.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! I am so glad you are enjoying the tension between our favorite couple. We have a couple chapters of drama yet, though, haha. This chapter has the Yule Ball, so I hope that you enjoy it. You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions!

Please let me know what you thought of chapter seventeen and be on the lookout for chapter eighteen, soon!

* * *

Hermione had been regretting promising Lavender and Parvati that they could help her get ready for the Yule Ball the whole day. She never knew that beauty could take quite so long, or even be a bit painful - having Lavender brush her curly hair out to wavy perfect, even with the Sleek-Eazy was an experience she never planned on repeating - even though the finished product did end up looking quite nice. She'd been in awe of the woman looking back in the mirror, very clearly her, just much more _beautiful_ looking than she was used to.

The girls had both gushed over the periwinkle blue dress that she'd selected, and Hermione thought that it fit her new found figure rather well, and she just hoped that Viktor found her beautiful as well. Even though he was not who she expected to take her to the dance, she still wanted to impress her date. She _did_ like Viktor, so maybe if she opened herself up to him, they might be able to find something more than friendship.

Honestly, the thought of opening herself up to anyone was just about the last thing that Hermione wanted to do. It seemed too painful, so soon after having her heart utterly crushed by Marcus. Of course Marcus obviously had no idea that her heart was crushed, and if he did he wasn't saying anything. She hadn't tried to kiss him again, even though it was nearly habit at this point. She felt so stupid for thinking that they were dating when clearly Marcus wasn't interested in her in _that_ way. She was sure that he just thought of her as his little tagalong friend. His _pipsqueak_.

Knowing that she couldn't put it off any longer, though, Hermione walked down the stairs from the girls tower with Lavender and Parvati, telling them that she would see them later, seeing as both their dates were in Gryffindor Tower, whereas she told Viktor she would meet him in the entrance of the Great Hall.

Her feet carried her the whole way, while her mind was up in the clouds the whole while, going through a mental pep talk, trying to remind herself that she needed to keep positive and focus on her date tonight, and not pining over her good friend, who was probably going to be too wrapped up in Katie Bell to notice her. Hermione wondered if Marcus would have preferred her if she played Quidditch too. After all, it was a huge part of his life.

"Hermione!" Viktor's accent cut through the din of the crowd, catching her attention. "You look very beautiful." He said, bending at the waist to press a kiss to her cheek.

"Viktor! You are looking quite dashing yourself." She returned the compliment, thinking that he did look rather fit in his red robes. You could clearly see the imposing figure that he struck. "You pronounced my name correctly." She noted, with a smile on her face. She knew that he struggled with it, as he once told her like it was a mouthful that he couldn't quite sort.

"Been practicing." He said with a shrug, and just a tinge of pink on his cheeks. "Shall we go inside for the dance?" He asked, having prepared her for the fact that they would be participating in a formal waltz, as tradition dictated of the champions. Nodding, Hermione cautiously took his offered arm, before steeling herself for her grand entrance. It was nice to know that at least Harry was going to have to go through it took, so it was likely that no one would notice her presence hardly at all.

It turned out it be wishful thinking. As soon as they entered the room, Hermione could feel all eyes on her, and hear the whispers of her classmates in disbelief that it was really her, and what was Viktor Krum doing with her? She wasn't sure if she should be proud of how beautiful she looked and felt that night, or disappointed that everyone was so shocked that someone like Viktor Krum might be interested in her.

She was quickly distracted by Viktor's over the top dancing. It was all very by the book, but he made sure to embellish all of the flourishes, purely just to make her laugh. He made her feel as though she was floating on air, lifting her by the waist to twirl her around. Hermione was surprised that she actually rather enjoyed herself during the dance itself. Still, she was glad to have all the attention off of her, once the rest of the students were allowed to enter into the dancing.

Viktor escorted her to their table once the dancing was over. Hermione had told him that she wanted to sit with some of the Durmstrang students, as she warned him that her friend Ron was likely to just stare at him in awe if they sat with her friends. She didn't even think about asking Marcus if they could sit at the same table; she didn't think her heart would be able to survive the night. It was nice to talk to some of the other boys from Durmstrang and their dates - a fairly good mix of all the different schools. Whenever they would lapse and slip into speaking in Bulgarian, Viktor would press his lips near her ear and do his best to translate her, sending shivers up her spine.

By the time that dinner was over, Viktor and she weren't quite ready to start dancing again, and instead, decided to mingle a little bit. After they were stopped by Fleur Delacour and Rodger Davies, they turned around, only to run right into Marcus and Katie. Hermione groaned internally, hoping that they would have been able to avoid this meeting all together, on account of so many people being in attendance, but apparently, Hermione didn't have any luck.

"Oh, hello, Marcus." Hermione said, knowing that not saying anything would only make things more awkward than they already were. He looked rather strapping and handsome in his dress robes, and Hermione's mind was helpless against conjuring the memory of what he looked like under his shirt, her cautious fingers exploring hot, taut skin. Katie was in a dazzling red dress that showed off her toned figure, making Hermione feel rather like a child in comparison. "Katie, you look lovely." She told her housemate, only to have the words feel like ash in her mouth.

"Pipsqueak." Marcus said, his voice sounding a bit tortured, but his face giving away no hint of what he was thinking. "You look gorgeous."

It was probably the nicest compliment that he'd ever given her, but it only served to make Hermione feel miserable. Turning to Viktor, who was watching the exchange with a curious look, Hermione decided to introduce him. "Viktor, this is my good friend Marcus Flint and his date, Katie Bell. They both play Quidditch for their house squad." She explained. "Marcus, Katie, Viktor Krum." She was positive that Viktor needed no introduction, but it only felt right.

To her relief, Viktor didn't seem interested in talking to the pair for more than a few pleasantries, and was quickly steering her away to the dance floor, where the Weird Sisters had begun playing. They danced together for one song, Viktor doing everything he could to get her to smile again, including dancing a bit like an idiot, before he broached the topic again. "That boy - Flint - he likes you?"

Hermione tried not to visibly react, because she didn't want Viktor to feel as though she didn't want to be there with him. She shook her head. "No, we've been friends for far too long for that." She explained. "We are just good friends. Best friends, practically." She just wondered if their friendship could survive this.

* * *

Hermione had begged Viktor off from another dance, telling him that she was quite hot and she fancied some punch. He agreed to go get them some, while she went to talk to Harry and Ron, who were both looking rather miserable sitting at their table, while their dates - Padma and Parvati - danced with other boys.

"Not enjoying the dance?" She asked them, when she finally made it to their table, feeling a bit bad for them. It seemed everyone had had such high expectations for the dance, but perhaps it wasn't all that it was built up to be.

Ron looked up at her with a bit of doleful expression. "Yeah, well, it's not exactly all that it's cracked up to be when you can't go with who you really want to." She could feel his blue eyes roving over her face, and she felt her cheeks go hot, hoping that it wasn't too obvious that she was still so hung up on Marcus.

She turned her face to look out at the swarm of people dancing and she easily picked out her brute of a friend, dancing with Katie Bell, his hands resting low on her hips. She swallowed thickly, trying to push the image from her brain, before she turned back to face her friend. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Who did you want to ask to the Ball?"

He scoffed, before pushing himself up from the table. "Nevermind." He said, pushing his fop of red hair back from his face, leaving her and Harry standing alone.

Hermione turned to Harry, who was looking at her with a sheepish smile. "Did I say something wrong?" She asked her bespeckled friend, hoping that Ron hadn't already told her the identity of his mystery crush and she'd just forgotten it. She _had_ been rather wrapped up in her own issues lately, that she maybe hadn't been paying proper attention to her other friends.

"Don't worry about it, Mione." Harry told her pressing his hand onto her shoulder. "You know how Ron gets - I think Viktor is looking for you." He said, pointing at her date across the room. Hermione nodded, gratefully, and stood to rejoin him.

* * *

The rest of the evening had been rather fun, Hermione thought. She had Viktor had had some of the punch before they realized it had been spiked with some alcohol, leaving her feeling rather giggly. They spent most of the night dancing to the Weird Sisters, with the rest of the students, but they had also taken a turn through the rose garden, where Viktor had given her a very innocent kiss on the lips.

It was _sweet_ , but she couldn't stop herself from comparing it to Marcus's more dominating and greedy kisses.

But the night had come to an end when Viktor found his friend Sergei had had rather _too_ much punch and needed to be escorted back to the ship. He had apologized to Hermione as best he could for not being able to walk her back to her tower, but Hermione waved him off and promised that they would see each other again soon. She was feeling a bit giddy and dizzy from the bit of punch she'd had herself, so the cool air once she got out of the Great Hall was welcome on her flushed skin. Thinking about how well the night had gone - she hadn't even teared up once seeing Marcus and Katie together - she felt a little smirk come over her face.

"Granger." A bark pulled her from her own thoughts, and she turned around to face person.

"Pucey? Can I help you with something?" She asked, confused about why Marcus's friend would be talking to her. It wasn't as if they were friends, though they had exchanged a few words in the past. It was almost entirely related to Marcus when they did.

"I can't believe it's actually true. Marcus told me you'd ditched him to go to the Ball with Krum, but I told him that didn't sound like you." Pucey said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Guess I was wrong."

Hermione could feel her jaw dropping. " _I_ ditched _him_?" She asked, aghast. Marcus was the one who'd gone and asked Katie Bell! What, was she expected to not say yes to the next person who asked her? Should she have just been pining after him the whole night like a sad little puppy? "He was the one that went and asked Bell to go with him, when I was under the impression that he and I were going together," Hermione insisted.

"You were?" Adrian asked, his tone a bit unreadable. She wasn't sure if he honestly didn't know, or if he was just being snarky.

"Yes, you can only snog a boy so many times before you assume that he wants something more from you than friendship." She hissed at him, feeling her eyes tear up. She was in agony, embarrassment roiling in her belly at opening herself to any attack from the self-serving Slytherin. She couldn't stand it if the rest of the Slytherin boys were laughing over her actions, how she'd thrown herself at Marcus, while he never even wanted her that way. "So, when I found out that plans had changed, and he'd rather take Bell than me, I did agree to go with Viktor, and I am _not_ going to apologize for it."

Hermione turned on her heel, knowing that she wouldn't be able to continue the conversation without crying and embarrassing herself further. No, he could do with her words what he would, even if it meant running off to Marcus to tell him everything she'd said.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! I am so glad you liked the Ball and Adrian being a decent friend...but, don't worry, there is definitely more drama on the horizon. You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates, and answer questions.

Please let me know what you thought of chapter eighteen and be on the lookout for chapter nineteen soon!

* * *

Marcus had been avoiding Hermione since the Yule Ball, even though he knew it was a cowardly thing to do. He had a terrible time with Katie Bell, seeing as they didn't get on _at all_ , and he spent most of the night searching the room for Hermione. She'd looked so beautiful in her dress, her hair done up, that he couldn't help but wonder what it would have been like to escort her himself. He was sure he would have been the envy of everyone.

The worst was after the Ball, when Adrian had told him that he'd spoken to Hermione and she'd told him that she'd been under the impression that she was going to go to the Yule Ball with Marcus, until he told her that he was going with Bell. Adrian had been insistent that Hermione had been very adamant about it, even on the edge of tears. It was making Marcus rethink everything. Was it possible that she was interested in more with _him_? Could it really be that Hermione was picking him over Viktor Krum?

He'd been to embarrassed to ask her about it, realizing that the damage was probably already done, but after a few weeks of avoiding her, he began to miss her, not just because he wanted her, but because she really was his best friend. He had nothing against Adrian, but it just wasn't the same.

Marcus decided right then that he would apologize to her, and maybe see if she wanted to go to Hogsmeade with him, making it very clear that it was a date. Because, even though he was probably a bit old for her, Marcus knew that he wanted to date Hermione Granger. She was beautiful and smart and funny and she'd always been there for him.

At the risk of sounding like a stalker, Marcus had had Hermione's schedule memorized since the beginning of the year. It was only because she'd written up a schedule for them, where he could study for his NEWTs with her. So, since it was a Friday, Marcus knew that Hermione should be in Arithmancy. He walked to the Arithmancy classroom, and waited for the bell to sound to signal the end of classes. A rush of Gryffindors and Ravenclaws poured out of the classroom, but he saw no sign of Hermione. Knowing that she sometimes liked to stay late to chat with her professors about the coursework, Marcus pushed himself off of the wall, and stuck his head in the room, only to be met with a confused looking Professor Vector.

"What can I do for you Mister Flint?" She asked, blinking a bit owlishly at him.

"Um." He started off, rather inelegantly. He'd hadn't expected to have to talk to anyone, and rubbed the back of his neck trying to thinking about what to tell the professor. "I was looking for Hermione Granger. Have you seen her?"

To his immense relief, Vector did not give him some knowing look, that supposed she knew exactly why he was seeking her best student. Instead, she shrugged her shoulders. "Miss Granger got a note to visit the Headmaster halfway through class. Something to do with that Krum boy, I think." Vector said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Despite having come to apologize to Hermione, Marcus felt misery sink in his stomach, as though he'd swallowed a rock. Hermione _never_ would have skived off class for him, but she was willing to do it for Krum? Maybe Adrian had just read the situation wrong.

* * *

Hermione came to by sucking in a huge gulp of air. She was completely confused about where she was, only to open her eyes, and see that she was in the Black Lake. The last thing that she remembered was going to the Headmaster's office after being pulled mid-Arithmancy class and then - nothing. Looking up, Hermione saw that Viktor was swimming, carrying her with him. "Viktor?" She croaked. "What's going on?"

"I tell in a minute." Viktor responded, seeing as they were nearly to the platform where their Headmasters were waiting, along with practically the whole school. This must have something to do with the tournament, Hermione decided. She let Viktor help her up out of the water, and gave him a fond smile when he wrapped a blanket around her shivering form. Her body was shaking, seeing as it was only February, and she was sopping wet. When Viktor wrapped his arm around her, she could only blush, but was thankful for the warmth that he provided. "Second Task." Viktor told her. "You were hostage from mermaids. I got you from water." He said, the cold obviously making it harder for him to translate his words into English from his native Bulgarian.

Hermione felt her cheeks grow even hotter. Of course, she'd helped Harry once he'd finally figured out how to listen to the egg and gotten its clue. She remembered that the clue stated that they would take something that the champions cared about deeply, and then they would be required to get it back. Hermione never imagined that it would have been people that were the things that were taken from the champions.

Even more surprising was that _she_ was the person that Viktor cared most about, enough that she would be placed under the Black Lake. She knew that he obviously liked her - he had asked her to the Ball after all, and he'd been incredibly sweet to her whenever they spent time together - but that he cared about her the _most?_ Surely, he would have had some friend from Durmstrang that he cared about more than her? She couldn't believe that she - Hermione Granger - had made such a big impression on the International Quidditch Star. Her cheeks burned even redder at the thought.

It wasn't that she didn't like Viktor, because she really did. If they had met at any other time, she was positive that she would have happily dated him, but currently, she was still so hung up on Marcus Flint. Ever since the Yule Ball, he'd been avoiding her, not willing to even say hello to her in the hallways, and that hurt even more than him taking Katie Bell instead of her. She'd thought that they had been dating, only to find out that Marcus didn't even think anything of their more amorous activities. It was like going through a breakup, only with a completely apathetic ex. It was making it increasingly difficult for her to work through all of the feelings that she had. Even worse was that she'd apparently lost such a good friend in the process.

As the rest of the champions slowly made their way up to the platform, Hermione was shuffled off to Madame Pomfrey's tent, only to be fussed over. The matron was very disappointed that students had been put in danger by the Ministry. She was very annoyed, and force fed Hermione various pepper up potions to hopefully stave off a cold.

When she was finally cleared to leave the tent by Madame Pomfrey, Hermione walked out of the tent, and right into the arms of Marcus Flint. Seeing who it was, Hermione gasped, and wrapped her arms around his middle. "Oh, Marcus, I am so happy to see you." She told him, figuring that he was likely realizing how silly he was being, seeing her life so in danger. "Don't worry, I'm fine. Just a bit chilled." Only, that was when she realized that he wasn't hugging her back. Pulling back so she could look at his face, Hermione cautiously said his name again. "Marcus?"

"Adrian told me what you said about the Ball. That you thought you and I were going together." He said, his voice devoid of emotion. "I almost believed it...and I was feeling right shit about it, but, this...this just proves how wrong that was."

"What do you mean this proves it?" Hermione asked, feeling her voice getting a bit shrill in her desperation. "I told Adrian the truth. I didn't agree to go to the Ball with Viktor until you told me that you were going with Katie Bell...and less than an hour after we...no less." She couldn't bring herself to say the words out loud, as it was still a bit too painful for her.

"Bullshit, Hermione - you were his fucking hostage." Marcus argued, his voice definitely getting more angry the longer that they talked to one another. "That means that he cared about _you_ more than anyone else who was here. You really expect me to believe that nothing was going on between the two of you before the Yule Ball?"

At his accusation, Hermione felt her own ire rising. She couldn't believe some of the things that Marcus was saying to her. "You think I asked for any of this, Marcus?" She asked, pressing her finger into her chest. "One minute I was told that I was to meet the Headmaster, and the next moment I am waking up in the middle of the Black Lake. No one asked me if I wanted to participate." She blinked back the tears in her eyes, upset that she was being held responsible for Viktor's feelings for her. "I can't help it that Viktor cares about me. It doesn't mean that I care most about him." Embarrassed, looking around, Hermione noticed that their argument had attracted a fair bit of attention. She wished that they weren't having this conversation in public, where it could be used against her. "We shouldn't be having this conversation out here." Hermione said, quietly.

But Marcus was too upset, mad at the fact that Viktor cared for her so much and had gotten to her first, that he didn't care about the audience that they had, one that included Rita Skeeter, who had her quick quill working rapidly. "That doesn't change the fact that you were just using me for practice with him. Didn't you care at all about how that might make me feel? To know that everything that we did together was just practice for _him_."

Hermione couldn't stop her gasp, and she could feel her eyes welling up with unshed tears. She didn't do anything to stop them from falling, seeing as his words cut her in a way that she wasn't expecting. "How could you honestly think that of me, Marcus Flint?" She asked, her voice dropping a bit lower. "Do you really think I care so little about you that I would use you for practice? Do you really think that's what I was doing?" She asked.

"Well, isn't it?" Marcus threw it back in her face, confident that he knew what was really going on.

"I thought that you were my boyfriend, you dolt!" Hermione shouted back at him. "I thought that it was obvious that we were dating and that's why I kissed you. We went on bloody _dates_ , Marcus." Hermione shook her head, upset that her friend, best friend even, thought so little of her. "I would never use you that way." She said it like an oath, but she wasn't sure that he would believe her.

Before Marcus could come up with anything to respond with, Harry and Ron had finally made their way out of the first aid tent, and came to the aid of their friend, who was clearly upset, crying out in public. Hermione almost never let people know how much they upset her publicly . "Oi, Flint, you troll! What did you do to her?" Weasley shouted, wrapping his arm around Hermione's shoulders.

"What did I do?" Marcus asked, sounding a bit dumbfounded by the question. "Why don't you ask _her_ what she did to me?"

Harry wrapped his arm around Hermione's waist, letting her press her face into his chest, seeing as she was obviously mortified and upset. Raising his wand at Marcus, he looked left and right to make sure that none of the Professors were watching, before sending a jinx his way, making Marcus's face erupt in painful boils. "Leave Hermione alone, Flint. Haven't you hurt her enough already?" He asked, before leading Hermione away towards the castle, likely to bring her back to their dormitory.

Marcus could feel tears stinging at his eyes from the pain of the boils, and he wondered if he'd just fucked everything up.


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! This will be the last chapter of year four, and then, next chapter will have a little time jump :) You can follow me over on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates, and answer questions.

Please let me know what you thought of chapter nineteen and be on the lookout for chapter twenty soon!

* * *

Marcus went through the rest of the school year in a daze. After he'd had his big argument with Hermione, he was far too embarrassed to try speaking to her again. He couldn't believe that he'd yelled at her like that in front of everyone, and he had the whole school talking about how he was the bad guy. About how he had taken _advantage_ of Hermione. Even Professor Snape seemed especially disappointed in him, and volunteered him for help cleaning out first year cauldrons.

He hated it.

Marcus still felt as though he was the one who had been taken advantage of. No matter what she said, he was still convinced that Hermione had just been using him as practice, to help along her own relationship with Viktor Krum. He wasn't blind, he still saw them together.

Even though he was still mad at her, Marcus couldn't help but be disheartened as he watched Hermione and Krum grow closer as the year went on. Krum had taken up his spot in the library studying with Hermione practically all the time, and he'd even caught the Bulgarian boy staring at her arse while she reached for a book once. To his dismay, Hermione caught him, but instead of scolding her admirer, she just laughed and playfully hit him in the shoulder.

The pair of them were impossible to miss when they went to Hogsmeade together. Of course, with Krum being so _famous_ and all, they had photographers following them everywhere. He wondered if Hermione would have preferred him if he'd been more famous. Judging by the way that she scrunched her nose and held up her hand over her face whenever the flashes of the light bulbs went off, he thought not. Though, it could just be a charming disguise, he supposed.

Potter had approached him once, though he was wary to listen to the bespeckled little runt, because the last time he'd gotten a face full of boils. "She really misses you, you know." Potter told him running his hands through his unkempt hair. "I don't know why, but it's killing her not to talk to you, even though, I think it's good riddance. I hope she'll get over the hurt eventually, but right now, she's miserable."

Part of him wished that she was miserable, that she knew how he felt, but somehow, Marcus doubted that. Every time he saw her she had a huge smile plastered on her face, and was laughing with her friends, or giggling with her...well he supposed they were her new friends - the two chatty girls from Gryffindor. He could just imagine them talking about how wonderful her life was, with her wonderful, new, _fit_ boyfriend, and how could she ever have been friends with a troll like him.

He supposed that it was a bit good that they had ended things, because it meant that he could focus entirely on his NEWTs and Quidditch training through to the end of the year. No more sneaking off to their little room to snog, because, despite as pleasant as it had been, it was a bit of a distraction for him as well.

He'd lined up several trials for when he graduated school, and there was nothing his father could do to stop him. All but one of them was overseas. He hoped that he could just go abroad, where no one really knew who he was, and he could just...start over there. He'd make new friends, keep up his correspondence with Adrian, and maybe find a nice French girl to settle down with, someone that his father would approve of.

He just had to get through a few more weeks of seeing Hermione Granger parade around with that oaf Krum first.

* * *

Hermione crumbled up the newspaper in her clenched fists, but she could still hear Rita Skeeter's voice ringing in her head, even if she could no longer read the terrible words that her _article_ contained.

For whatever reason, Rita Skeeter had it out for Hermione from the first day that she swept into Hogwarts. For some reason, she had initially thought that Hermione was dating Harry, which was preposterous, and even Harry had tried to correct the blonde witch to no avail. After she'd gone to the Yule Ball with Viktor, articles began coming out about how she was playing the two champions against one another, and that she was some kind of fame-hungry upstart, eager to sink her claws into a successful wizard.

But none of that compared to after she and Marcus had had their public fight after the second task. Rita had only been too happy to share all the nasty details with the wizarding public, about how far they'd gone in their relationship, and how upset Marcus was with her. There was no hiding the fact that Rita was clearly painting her as the villain, who had come in and tried to corrupt the poor scion of a pureblood, sacred twenty-eight, ancient and noble house.

After that, the hate mail had begun pouring in, from all sorts of people that she had never even met before. It was so upsetting to see all of these people who had such vile things to say to her, when he'd never even met her. That they were so willing to explicitly write down what they'd like to do to her for harassing the three boys, it was genuinely upsetting. Even Ron's mother had written her a nasty note, berating her for her behavior. Ron, embarrassed, had written to his mother, but received no retraction or apology in reply.

But really, this article had taken the cake. She just couldn't stand to read any longer about how much people hated her. This one had been an exclusive with Marcus's father, and he'd said in no uncertain terms that no son of his would ever be involved with a filthy, disgusting muggleborn.

Standing abruptly from the table, Hermione rushed out of the Great Hall, tears pouring down her cheeks, knowing that everyone else in the school who got the Daily Prophet would be reading the hateful words, too, and gossiping about her only seconds later. Once she was safely out of view, she crouched down, pressing her hands to her eyes, and letting out an anguished cry.

To her surprise, she quickly heard two sets of footsteps, and looked up, surprised to see that Harry and Ron had followed her. Harry offered her his arm, and helped her to stand up. Ron pulled the paper out of her hands, and used his thumb to wipe away her tears. "It will be okay, Hermione. Everyone who is your real friend knows that this stuff isn't true." He said.

She sniffled and nodded, trying to remind herself of that fact, but she was finding it harder and harder to believe it every day.

Before she could say any more, she was startled to see Marcus storming over to them, his hand coming to push Ron away from her. "Oi, what did the two of you do to her?" He asked, obviously concerned that she was crying. "Why is she always running away from you crying?"

Ron puffed out his chest, his cheeks going a bit red. "What did we do?" He laughed in Marcus's face. "More like what did you do, mate?" He shoved the copy of the Daily Prophet into Hermione's hands. "I think that you gave up your rights to be concerned about her a long time ago, so leave Hermione bloody alone, got it?" He snarled.

Hermione was incredibly happy to have Ron and Harry by her side, knowing that she wouldn't have been able to deal with Marcus's confrontation on her own, especially when he was such a big cause of it. It was nice to know that _some_ part of him still cared about her, but, honestly, he'd gone months without speaking to her after he'd humiliated her in front of so many people, and at this point, she didn't want to hear anything he had to say.

"Just read it." Harry said, noticing Marcus's confused face, while he looked down at the newspaper in his hands. Then, he wrapped an arm around Hermione's shoulder. "Come on, Mione, let's get you back to the Common Room. I am sure that McGonagall will understand if you take the morning off."

* * *

Hermione had quickly decided that her fourth year was by the worst she'd lived through, including being petrified by a giant basilisk in her second year. Maybe it was because it had started out so hopeful. At first, she was just glad to get Marcus at school with her for another year, even if it was a bit selfish of her, seeing as he'd lost his mother. Then, she'd been flushed with the excitement of starting out a new _relationship_ with her boyfriend Marcus. But, before she'd really gotten used to the idea of actually having a boyfriend, it all slipped between her fingers. She wasn't sure when it had all gotten quite so fucked up, but Marcus ended up hating her, thinking that she was just using him, which couldn't have been further from the truth. After he publicly confronted her, she was left feeling rather broken and embarrassed, especially as it made her the focus of significant media coverage.

Her friendship with Viktor wasn't helping her situation either. After she'd gotten a letter with bubotuber pus in it, she told Viktor that she didn't think that they should go to Hogsmeade weekends with each other anymore. To her relief, he seemed to understand, and was content to just spend afternoons in the library with her. It probably helped that he was very focused on the Triwizards Tournament, too.

That was just another blip on her radar, being constantly worried about Harry's safety. She had Ron had ended up devoting a significant amount of time to try and prepare him for the Final Task, which she understood to involve some kind of maze, even though they had no idea what was going to be _inside_ of it. And they certainly hadn't been prepared for the terrible surprise that Voldemort prepared for Harry inside.

She'd been trembling when Harry described everything that had gone on in the cemetery, including the way that he'd fought with Voldemort, but that their spells had connected. And of course, she was just as disturbed as everyone else when Harry had brought back Cedric Diggory's lifeless body.

When she heard that heart wrenching cries of Cedric's father, Hermione suddenly felt silly for being so upset with all of her petty school girl dramas over the course of the school year. So what if the worst thing that happened to her was that Rita Skeeter wrote something mean about her? At least she was still alive, and her parents weren't having to mourn over her body.

Harry's pronouncement that Voldemort was back meant that everything was about to change. Of course Hermione believed her friend wholeheartedly, but it was clear that the other students and especially the Ministry thought that he was lying. It was unusual to see Minister Fudge being quite so adamant that Harry was lying, even with their supposed Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, former auror Alastor Moody, turned out to be escaped Death Eater Barty Crouch Jr. Hermione could feel a sea change coming. Things were going to get a lot worse before they got better with Voldemort resurrected.

She thought about all the terrible things that Marcus's father had written about her, and she remembered hushed conversations with the large boy in her First Year, when he revealed that his father had been a supporter of Voldemort. Hermione didn't even want to think of what his father would have done to her if he found out that they were involved, especially not with the Death Eaters reforming. Maybe it was best for both of them that their friendship had been ended over something so silly as misplaced jealousy, as it would likely save them both a lot of pain down the line.

Right now, Hermione had bigger things to worry about than Marcus Flint.


	20. Chapter 20

_A/N:_ Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! As stated, this chapter has a bit of a time leap, so please be aware of that. Also, I can now say with certainty that this story will have twenty-six chapters and an epilogue. You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates, and answer questions.

Please let me know what you thought of chapter twenty and be on the lookout for chapter twenty-one soon!

* * *

 _Five Years Later_

Marcus sighed while he looked around his empty flat, everything neatly packed in boxes for his upcoming move. He'd been living in Luxembourg since he was picked up by the Bigonville Bombers shortly after graduating Hogwarts, and honestly, he'd had no plans of ever returning to England if he could help it.

He was happy with the Bombers, and quickly made a name for himself in the Benelux league for being an exceptional chaser. He'd started out on the reserve squad, but it was easy enough to secure a starting spot after one of their chasers retired a year after Marcus had joined the squad. Since then, he'd done everything that he could to earn and keep his spot on the squad, and soared to the top of the league in various statistics, and he was known for being tough to defend against.

The fame was nice, he supposed. Women flocked to anyone with a Professional contract and were willing to look past his teeth and dubious looks. He never really settled down with any one girl, and the fact that they weren't really after _him_ made every interaction seem a bit hollow if he was honest. He always felt dirty when someone was using him.

That would unfortunately remind him of Hermione Granger, a girl who he could now say that he would likely never be able to forget, and the way that she used him while he was in school. Of course, she'd been so adamant that she wasn't using him, but his memories made it too difficult for himself to be sure. Marcus was positive that he'd never have another girl like her, so he'd given up looking.

He wondered if she ever thought about him as well.

Marcus hadn't kept up with the news out of England, except what Adrian passed along through letters and the occasional visit. Adrian never mentioned Hermione, and he never asked, supposing that he would share anything if it was worthwhile. Most of their talk had concerned the war that slowly built up after he'd left Hogwarts, culminating in a full out battle at Hogwarts, that Adrian had even participated in.

Of course, Marcus knew about the war from repeated threats from his father to come and fulfill his birthright by becoming a Death Eater and killing muggleborns and fighting for purebloods on the side of Lord Voldemort. He'd ignored each and every one, not wanting to participate in such a war, especially for something he didn't believe in, and that only had a little bit to do with Hermione. He knew that she would be fighting on the other side…

That was pretty much the only thing that Adrian had told him about her - that she was one of the so called Golden Trio, with Potter and Weasley, and that they'd taken down Lord Voldemort, leading the resistance. Marcus could imagine her on the battlefield, wand drawn. She was always so _focused_ when she practiced her spells.

But then, those happy thoughts would be clouded by wondering which of the two Gryffindors she was likely with these days. Probably Weasley. He could still remember the way Weasley'd wrapped his arms around her shoulders, and the way that she pressed her face into his chest, crying, because of something _he_ did.

It was hard to be planning the return to England now, when he had no happy memories there anymore. After his father had died in the war, he'd planned on just living on the Continent for the rest of his life, but now...well, he'd been traded to the Falmouth Falcons. It was his childhood favorite team, so it was hard to argue with, but it was just sure to bring up so many emotions that he'd rather just leave in the past.

Looking around his empty flat once more, Marcus shrugged his shoulders. There wasn't much he could do about it now.

* * *

Adrian pushed a glass of firewhiskey in his hand, before settling down with his own on Marcus's new couch, making himself at home. "Did you just help yourself to my firewhiskey?" He groused at his friend, who had shown up quite unannounced one Saturday evening, insisting that he had to come out with him and his fiancee, Daphne Greengrass.

"Of course." Adrian said with a smirk. "A good host would have offered it to me, instead of me having to ask. Now are you going to go change, or do I have to transfigure your clothing for you?" Marcus was still wearing his workout gear from early, having spent most of the day at the Falmouth Training grounds.

"I don't want to go out Adrian. I was planning on having a quiet night in." He ran his fingers through his sweaty, dark hair, a bit longer than he'd worn it when he was in school, but still not like some of his friends wore theirs. Marcus had become quite used to being a hermit, spending quiet nights in the peace of his own flat since he'd returned to England a month ago. He knew it was a bit boring, but it suited him.

"Come on, Marcus. You have been here for a whole month and you haven't gone out once." Adrian goaded him. "Daphne is really looking forward to seeing you again, before the wedding at least."

Marcus raised his eyebrows in surprise. He remembered pretty Daphne Greengrass from school and as far as he knew, she'd never looked twice in his direction before. He couldn't imagine her ever looking forward to seeing him. "I don't know, Ade, with training and everything, coach doesn't like us to drink."

"Don't bullshit me, Marcus, I have a seat in the front office." Adrian said with a frown. "We both know that _early_ summer training doesn't start until three weeks from now!" Adrian did work for the Falcons, which was a nice surprise, to be honest, to be able to spend so much time with pretty much his only friend in England.

Maybe it was a good idea for him to go out, just for that exact reason. He should put himself out there a bit more. It couldn't hurt to make a few new friends, so that he wasn't taking up so much of Adrian's time, especially since once he was married to Daphne, he probably wouldn't have nearly as much free time. "Alright, but don't get used to this. It's not going to become a regular occurrence!" He stood from the couch so that he could go change.

"Shower too! I don't think most witches go for eau de quidditch!" Adrian shouted at him, while he made his way to his room to get ready. Marcus couldn't hold back his snort - Adrian would be surprised what witches were willing to put up with to get a chance with a Professional Quidditch player.

In less than thirty minutes, Marcus is seated at an elevated table with Adrian and Daphne, as well as some other people from Hogwarts that are polite enough, with a drink in his hand. The bar is certainly upscale enough, but it is loud, and he finds it difficult to really have a meaningful conversation with anyone. Luckily, Daphne doesn't seem to care too much, as she is only too happy to talk his ear off about her upcoming wedding, diamond ring sparkling on her finger, even if he only grunts in response every now and again. Suddenly, Daphne squeals and pops up from her spot, waving to someone across the way.

"Hermione!" She shouts out, getting the other witch's attention, and sending nerves settling into Marcus's stomach. He hadn't even _considered_ the prospect of seeing her again. "I didn't know you were back from Bulgaria already, or I would have invited you out!" Daphne said, pulling the girl into a warm embrace.

Daphne guides the witch over to their table. Marcus feels all of his breath leave him the moment that he sets eyes on her again. Hermione is much more beautiful than he remembered her being, her hair falling around her shoulders in gentle waves, with just a hint of wildness. Her cheeks are flushed red and her eyes are sparkling from the alcohol. Her body is hugged by black lace.

"You remember Marcus of course." Daphne pushes Hermione towards the empty seat next to Marcus, and she reluctantly sits down, though once she's laid eyes on him again, a bit of stiffness settles into her body language.

"Yes." Hermione says quietly, plastering a smile on her face that doesn't seem real. "Ronald told me that you'd been traded to the Falcons. Congratulations, Marcus." She can't seem to meet his eyes, and he doesn't know if he should be grateful or disappointed with that. It was no secret that the last time they'd spoken, they'd been fighting and it hadn't been pretty. How could they just pretend like nothing had happened between them?

Not wanting to cause a scene, Marcus nodded, and took a drink. "Thank you. So, you were in Bulgaria?" He asked, not having missed what Daphne had said early. His mind was ready to produce all sorts of scenarios where Hermione had fallen deeply in love with Krum once he left and then she had moved to Bulgaria to be with him, and have his babies. She was probably happily married already. Fuck. "Are you still with Krum then?"

"No." Hermione responded, tersely, awkwardly. "We went our separate ways after the Tournament, though we do keep in touch. I was just in Bulgaria to celebrate his wedding actually. His wife is a lovely girl, but she doesn't speak much English."

Hearing that not only was Hermione _not_ with Krum, but that he was married to someone else was certainly a surprise to hear. Marcus, though he knew it was probably just wishful thinking, could feel a little bit of hope settle into his belly. Maybe all hope wasn't lost for him and Hermione. Clearing his throat, he knew that he should say something else. "Oh well, that's good for him. Erm, how do you know Daphne then?"

The blonde woman appeared again, handing Hermione a full glass of red wine that she had apparently flittered away to get. "Oh, Hermione and I go way back, since we both started at the Ministry." Daphne told him, with a grin. "She started out in the Department of International Magical Cooperation, but then we stole her away."

"What?" Marcus asked, not really understanding what Daphne had meant, though he wasn't surprised to learn that Hermione worked for the Ministry.

"They borrowed me as a liaison during the last Quidditch world cup. You know, organizing the delegations and all that." Hermione said, after taking a big gulp of her wine, clearly still uncomfortable to be talking to him, but still loosening up a little bit. "Oh, and by they I mean the Department of Games." She explained. "Where Daphne works."

"Yes, and my boss was just so impressed with Hermione, that he managed to convince her to transfer to our department full time." Daphne added. "We've been good friends since then."

"You work in Quidditch, pipsqueak?" Marcus asked, truly surprised. Although Hermione could fly (thanks to him) she never really seemed to enjoy it. And although she watched and understood Quidditch, she'd never seemed to enjoy that either. To find out that it was what she had chosen to do for her job was certainly a surprise.

She swallowed the rest of her glass, cheeks turning bright red from the use of his nickname for her. He hadn't heard it in so long. "Yes, I've found it to be quite rewarding, actually. I work mostly on the administrative side, though, so it's not as if I have much interaction with the teams or the players." Her voice trailed off. "Erm, well, I should really be getting back to my friends." She stood, readjusting her tight dress.

"Wait!" Marcus said, not wanting to see her go after so long without talking to her. "I mean...can I see you again, sometime Hermione? I know that we didn't really part on...great terms, but, I miss you, and I like talking to you, and...I would love to hear more about what's going on in your life." Fuck, he was upset that he'd drank so much already. All of his words were spilling out of his mouth like mush, and this wasn't the eloquent apology he knew that Hermione likely deserved from him.

But, Hermione bit her lower lip, just like she'd always done, and nodded her head shyly. "I miss you too, Marcus." Her eyes dropped down to his chest, unable to meet his eyes. "It would be nice to catch up sometime soon. I'll send you an owl." She promised, before turning before he could say anything else, curls bouncy as she walked away.

He sat down feeling a bit dumbfounded at everything that had happened, but he couldn't deny the tiny feeling of hope that swelled up in his stomach, that maybe they could put everything behind them, and move forward. Maybe, they could be friends again.

Adrian slipped into the seat behind him, patting Marcus on the back. "See, I told you it would be good for you to come out."

Marcus turned to face his smirking friend's face, before he growled. "You knew that-and you didn't-" He couldn't believe just how underhanded his friend had been, knowing that he must have orchestrated the whole meeting, especially now that he knew Daphne and Hermione were apparently such good friends. But, he was still so happy at the opportunity to see Hermione again, that he couldn't stay mad at Adrian. "Just warn me next time."


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! Never fear - this isn't just going to be an easy slide back into the relationship. Hermione and Marcus had a lot of things to work through first. But, they are both more mature now, and hopefully they won't make the same mistakes...right? You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates, and answer questions!

Please let me know what you thought of chapter twenty-one and be on the lookout for chapter twenty-two soon!

* * *

Hermione had gone the next few days in a confused daze, after she'd run into Marcus Flint again out at the bar. She had never imagined what it would be like to come face to face with him again, especially after he left the country to play Quidditch in Luxembourg. When she was a student, she had tried to tell herself that it was good riddence, but the moment she laid eyes on him again, all sorts of emotions and _feelings_ that she'd pushed down a long time ago came rushing back.

He looked better than he did in her memories, appearing wholy larger, broader, taller than she remembered him as. Clearly, Quidditch workouts had only continued to wonders for his figure, and her traitorous mind wondered if she would ever get the chance to compare the differences of his physique up close and personal. His hair was dark as ever, and it really suited him. He was still not a classically handsome man, she doubted he ever would be without fixing his teeth, but there was a ruggedness that appealed to _her_.

It had been terribly painful to sit and talk to him, his blue eyes filled with some unknown emotion halfway between guilt and hope, as though they hadn't left each other on completely terrible terms. She still couldn't believe that her first _real_ friend hadn't even said goodbye to her before he left Hogwarts for good, seeing as he was mad at her for...well, she wasn't really sure what. She just remembered that he'd thought she was using him all year for practice in order to get with Viktor, whilst she'd thought they'd been dating. It hurt most that he could ever think so little of her that he would imagine she would use him in such a way.

Viktor was obviously still on his brain, seeing as he immediately asked if she and Viktor were together. It made her want to snort a bit at his obvious jealousy, when really he had nothing to be jealous about and no right to be jealous either, after the way he'd treated her.

Still, looking into those puppy dog eyes of his, shining with...well, what she wasn't entirely sure, when he asked if he could see her again to hash things out and to catch up, she hadn't been able to say no to him. There was a traitorous part of her that _did_ want to see him again, and learn everything that he'd been up to since leaving England. They'd been such good friends once, before there was any romance involved.

But, in the light of the day, Hermione found herself wondering just why she'd agreed to it. She was positive that it was just going to end with her being hurt again.

When she'd showed up at work the following Monday, Hermione had scolded Daphne for the role in their _chance_ encounter. "I know what you did, and I don't appreciate it." She'd told the blonde. "You know that I am still a bit upset about the way Marcus and I left things at school."

"I promise I didn't know, Hermione. Adrian invited him." Daphne said, giving her a doleful look, plaiting her long hair pulled over her shoulder. "But I thought things went well between the two of you. I thought that you were going to see each other again. Maybe now's a good time to discuss the way you left things, and move past it."

Hermione had slumped into her desk. "Yeah, we will see. I can't believe I said I would owl him...I'm regretting it now." She stared at the paperwork in front of her, willing it to give her some sign about how she should handle the Marcus situationt that she'd gotten herself into.

"Well, just think about it at least." Daphne told her, before picking up a stack of folders to take away with her to her meeting, smoothing out her impeccable looking grey wool dress. "I mean, you don't have to owl him right away. Let him sweat over it for a few days, and then see if you still don't want to go. You aren't obligated to see him." She reminded the Gryffindor girl, who was too quick to offer her assistance to people, out of some kind of feeling like she had to help _everyone_. It was an admirable trait, but Daphne occassionally worried about her being taken advantage of.

But that had been five days ago, and now it was the weekend again, and Hermione was nowhere nearer than she'd been before on deciding what she wanted to do. She had reluctantly decided to ask Harry and Ron what they thought of her predicament, though she was positive that they would be against the idea entirely. Neither of the boys appreciated the way that Marcus had treated her, and as her (very brief) ex-boyfriend, Ron generally had a lot of negative things to say about the men she dated, even though he was now happily married to Susan Bones, and they had a child of their own on the way.

She met the boys at a fashionable jeweler not far from Diagon Alley, where she and Ron had agreed to help Harry select an engagement ring for Ginny. Her best friend was finally ready to propose to Ginny Weasley after dating for the past two years. Hermione knew that the pair were quite good for one another, but it was hilarious to see Harry in a perpetual state of nerves from the thought of asking the redhead to spend the rest of her life with him.

The trio poured over tray after tray of all sorts of precious stones, trying to find the _perfect_ ring, though Harry was incredibly particular about what he wanted. Eventually, he began to get frustrated and nervous that he wasn't going to be abe to find anything, sending him into a full on panic. Grabbing her friend by the cheeks, Hermione forced him to focus on her. "Harry, calm down. We will find it. Why don't you go to the bathroom and splash some water on your face...cool off a bit. Then we can talk." She instructed.

Looking a bit pale, Harry nodded, before turning on his heel, leaving Hermione and Ron to their own devices. Deciding that it might be a good idea to bring up the Marcus issue, she cleared her throat. "So, you will never guess who I ran into when I was out with Luna and Ginny the other day." She said, cautiously. Ron grunted, not looking up from the sapphire earrings he was currently pouring over. "Marcus Flint."

 _That_ certainly got his attention, and Ron's head shot up in surprise. "What?" He asked, his voice even, though his cheeks were already flushed red. "I swear, Hermione, if he did anything to bother you -" His words were cut off by the ringing of the bell to indicate someone else had walked into the shop. "Speak of the devil." Ron muttered.

Hermione spun around on her heel, surprised to come face to face with the broad chest of Marcus Flint. "Marcus! What are you doing here?" She asked, surprised, and embarrassed that she'd been avoiding owling him to set up a time to meet.

"Um, I came to pick up some of my mother's jewelry that I had repaired." He said with a shrug. "I figured, since I am in charge of the estate now, I might as well take care of it properly." His blue eyes swept over her, and to the tall redhead standing next to her, after Ron took another step closer to her. "What are you doing here?"

Ron smirked at the bigger man, pressing his left hand against Hermione's lower back. "Oh, just, picking out an engagement ring." Ron announced, entirely too happy for his own good, his eyes boring holes into Marcus's, daring him to say something about it.

Marcus's eyebrows shot up in surprise, but he didn't say anything about it. "Oh, wow." Still, he kept his shoulders proud, unwilling to let any ounce of disappointment sweep into his posture, not wanting to reveal his hurt. He still hadn't even apologized to Hermione properly, so he couldn't be upset if she'd moved on with someone else. It wasn't as if she was going to become a spinster, just because he'd ended their relationship, or whatever it was.

"I've been meaning to owl you." Hermione said, biting her lower lip. "It's been busy for work, lots of transfers this time of year...well, you know that." She said, a blush on her cheeks. "But, um, how would you like to brunch next weekend? I _would_ really like to catch up with you, Marcus." She told him, wanting to at least get some closure on that part of her life, and maybe, rekindle her friendship if they were lucky.

He rubbed the back of his neck, acting as though he were really considering the question, and Hermione could feel her cheeks grow hotter the longer the silence went on. Was he really just going to embarrass her like that in public, again? He'd seemed so sincere when they'd talked at the pub a week ago. Finally, though, he nodded. "Yeah, that would be nice, find out what all has happened since I felt England and all. You'll owl me the details then?"

Hermione couldn't stop the broad smile that stretched across her face when he agreed. "Excellent! Yes, I will see you next week, Marcus." She said, waving her hand his way, before watching him pick up his parcel and leave the shop. Her breath left her.

Ron snorted beside her. "I can't believe you are giving that troll a second chance." He said, shaking his head.

"What troll?" Harry asked, finally back from the bathroom, and looking a little bit better than he did before. He was obviously much more interested in learning about whatever Hermione was going to be doing and less concerned about finding the perfect ring.

"Marcus is not a troll!" Hermione scolded her friend. "And no one said that I was going to give him a second chance...just a chance to clear the air. You know, he and I were both so emotional when we parted ways. We said really hurtful things to one another, and well, it will be good to get some closure on that part of my life."

"Well, I for one think it's a terrible idea." Ron said, crossing his arms over his chest, looking down at her. "I remember how broken up you were, especially with all that terrible stuff that the newspapers wrote about you." He reminded her. It was a particularly dark time in her life, considering that Rita Skeeter's gossip column seemed devoted to learning what was going on in a teenage girl's love life.

"Ron, I know that, and now I will get a chance to explain to Marcus, rationally, about how much it hurt me, and how horrible it was not to have his support." Hermione said, her hands on her hips now. She could feel her voice going a bit thick, a tell that she was on the verge of crying and she hoped that neither of the boys would notice, but she was out of luck.

Harry pulled her into a sideways hug. "I think that's a good idea, Hermione. If it's what you want, Ron and I will support you." He said, making Hermione feel a lot better to know that her two friends cared about her so much. Well, after spending a year on the run, how could they not all care about each other deeply. "And, if Flint tries to get fresh with you, just let me know, and Ron and I can take care of that too."

That made Hermione laugh. "Okay, Mr. Auror, I don't need you to intimidate any potential boyfriends." She said with a grin.

"Oh, so you do admit that he's a _potential_ boyfriend?" Ron asked, his eyes narrowing at her slip up.

"Anyways, Harry, while you were in the bathroom," Hermione started, desperate to get the topic of conversation off of her and Marcus, "I had the most brilliant idea for your ring dilemma. What if we go check your family vault for an heirloom ring? Classic, beautiful and meaningful. I am sure that we could find something that Ginny will love." She suggested, wanting the nightmare that was engagement ring shopping to end.

Harry's face lit up. "That's brilliant, Hermione!" Harry said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders to lead them out of the shop. "To Gringotts!"


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows after last chapter! I am glad you guys are enjoying/annoyed with Ron's little trick...Hermione will be so angry when she figures it out! You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions!

Please let me know what you thought of chapter twenty-two and be on the lookout for twenty-three soon!

* * *

Hermione had been surprised with how nervous she was for her Brunch with Marcus. She was absolutely fretting over what to wear, although she knew that she shouldn't be concerned with impressing him with her looks. She wanted to give off a vibe of being professional, confident, happy; that the way he'd hurt her hadn't broken her in anyway.

She'd even invited Ginny over the night before so she could get some input on clothing for her not date. Hermione had modeled several outfits that she was considering, but in the end, the redhead was still absolute mush over her recently engaged status and spent the majority of the time telling Hermione about how Harry had gotten nervous and proposed to her when they were out on a walk on Sunday, completely on a whim, because he'd gotten too nervous to go through with his original plan. Even though Hermione was incredibly excited for her friends impending wedding, there was a limit to the number of times that she could hear a story before she went bonkers. She'd sent the girl home, determined to wait on the weather to decide what to wear.

The morning of the brunch, Hermione opened the windows in her flat and determined that it was going to be an unseasonably warm day, and opted to wear a pair of well fitting jeans, with a sleeveless olive green blouse. She spent an inordinate amount of time in the shower, her stomach fluttering with nerves while the minutes to the time that she was going to meet Marcus ticked closer. Once she was done, she quickly dried her hair, hoping that it didn't appear out of control, and rather a sexy, tousled look that Daphne sometimes complimented her on. Fully dressed, Hermione took the time to put on just a bit of makeup, just enough to brighten up her face.

Finally, it was time for her to leave, otherwise she was sure that she would be late. Grabbing her wand, she popped over to the apparition point and made her way to the restaurant that she had instructed Marcus to meet her at. It was a quiet little front, with wide open windows, which should hopefully make for a pleasant morning, with the weather being so nice.

She was pleased to see Marcus already waiting for her in the front of the shop, even though she was a few minutes early of the time they had agreed to meet. She was glad to see that he was taking this seriously, and had showed up when she promised, seeing as it was something that was still an issue with Harry and Ron. He was looking around nervously, and Hermione took a moment to look him up and down. He looked rather smart in a pair of trousers and a polo shirt.

Shaking her head, knowing that she had no business in appreciating his looks before they'd discussed their past, Hermione waved her hand when she spotted him. "Hey Marcus." She greeted him, giving him an awkward half hug. He wished her a good morning and righted himself. "Shall we go inside then?"

The hostess got them settled at a table right next to one of the windows, and they both sent off their drink orders. Not sure what to say, Hermione opened her menu, hoping to use the time to gather her thoughts. "The omelets are quite good here." She told him. "And the Belgian waffles are too. Oh, except, I'll bet nothing can compare to _actual_ Belgian waffles." She corrected herself, remembering that he'd spent the last few years practically in Belgium.

"Yeah, they were pretty amazing, but I would usually only eat them in the off season." Marcus explained, looking at her over the top of the menu. "I think I will get try an omelet, though. They do look pretty good."

With their orders put in, and their menus removed, Hermione and Marcus had no choice but to talk to each other while they waited for their food. Marcus had spent the whole week practicing what it was that he wanted to say to her, over and over again. He knew that he was getting a second chance of friendship with Hermione, even if she was engaged to Weasley, and he didn't want to muck it up by saying something wrong.

"I'm really glad we are doing this, pipsqueak." He said, taking a sip of his water to gather his courage. "I've been regretting the way that I behaved five years ago for a while now, and well, I've wanted to apologize. I am really sorry for the way that I yelled at you. I was just so jealous of Krum that it was like I lost all reason. I know that it isn't an excuse, but I miss being your friend, and I hope that I can regain that at some point."

Hermione gave him a small smile. "Thank you, Marcus. It means a lot to me that you've apologized. I was...really hurt in my fourth year." She reached across the table, to give his hand a squeeze. "I would like to be friends again, too, in time. Of course, we can't just go back and pretend that nothing happened, but now that you are back in England, I hope that we can...recreate that friendship."

"I just wish I knew when it all went wrong." Marcus said, having spent the previous five years wondering that as well. He knew that he never should have agreed to do the things that he did with her, without clear boundaries established. Maybe if they'd done that, he wouldn't have assumed that she was using him.

"Me too. I mean, I spent the first half of term convinced that we were dating, absolutely enamored with you, Marcus." Hermione admitted. She dropped her eyes to her neatly organized silverwave, unable to meet his eyes. "I loved every minute that I spent with you, and kissing you…" Her cheeks heated up at the memory. "Well, I should have said something about it. I can't believe that the word 'boyfriend' never came out of my mouth because I was daydreaming about it _constantly_." It was a bit embarrassing for her to admit this to him, but she knew that their miscommunication was at least half of their problem.

Marcus's ears perked up at that though. "So that means...you would have been happy to date me?" He asked, taking in Hermione's flushed appearance. He smiled, looking out the window, knowing that it was a bit pointless to be thinking about that at this point, seeing as she was engaged to be married. It wasn't as if anything could happen about it now. "And I was just so positive that you could never see me _that_ way...especially when I saw how close you and Krum seemed in the library."

"Viktor and I were just friends." Hermione said. "Honestly, I had no idea that he was interested in me romantically, until he asked me to the Yule Ball - that was the day after you told me you were taking Katie. I probably wouldn't have gone with him if I hadn't wanted to show you that you had hurt me." She played with her fork, as it gave her something to do other than to focus on the truth of her words. "The worst was all the articles about me in the Daily Prophet. Rita Skeeter wrote terrible things about me, said I was a harlot, and that I was playing you, Harry and Viktor against one another for your money."

"Salazar, I had no idea. I never read the Prophet - it's mostly drivel." Marcus gave her a sad look, regretting the day that he'd gotten it into his head that Hermione was using him for practice. "Fuck, I'm sorry, pipsqueak." He said, his shoulders deflating. "I wish I would have just asked you myself."

Before either of them could address _that_ hypothetical, the waitress had returned with their plates, and they were given the momentary excuse to stop talking while they had their first bites of breakfast. Marcus seemed very pleased with his omelette, stuffed to the brim with bacon, cheese, and the six kinds of vegetables that he'd requested. "This is good." He complimented her choice in restaurant.

Hermione grinned, enjoying her syrupy French toast. "Yes, I always love coming here, but unfortunately the boys are sick of coming here now." She told them. Ron had always preferred his mother's company, but Hermione enjoyed being able to take her time eating, and no one in the party worrying about helping with the dishes. Harry, who had grown up unused to eating large quantities, was never much of a Brunch person to begin with.

Marcus drew his eyes together at her casual mention of Potter and Weasley, and decided now was as good a time as ever to bring up her impending marriage to Ronald Weasley. "So, when is the wedding?" He asked, proud of how nonchalant he sounded - like a good friend who was genuinely happy and interested.

"Nothing's been set in stone yet, but I think December." Hermione told him with a smile. Of course, he would already have caught wind of the pending nuptials, seeing as it has been the hot topic in all the paper's the previous week. The Daily Prophet had done a big expose that was released just that morning, detailing all the aspects they could find about Harry and Ginny's relationship, including bringing up Hermione and Harry's supposed romance during the Triwizard's Tournament, again. "Wedding of the century, they are calling it. Personally, I think that's a bit silly."

Marcus mused, knowing that Hermione had always been pretty modest, so maybe she didn't see it that way. "I don't know. I mean, considering who the groom and bride are, I could see it generating a lot of public interest." It would probably generate a lot of personal heartbreak for him too.

"I suppose that's true." Hermione conceded. She couldn't think of a wizard alive who was more well known and a bigger subject of interest than Harry Potter. It definitely made sense that people would be interested now that he was no longer an eligible bachelor either. "But enough about that...I am sure I will be talking a lot about wedding stuff before the actual wedding itself, and its sure to drive me round the twist. When does your season start?"

"Two more weeks, actually." Marcus told her, before explaining that he never really stopped training, not even in the summer when most Quidditch players went off on lavish vacations with their families. "I don't want to get out of practice." He told her with a shrug. "Plus, I enjoy flying, so it's not all work."

Hermione nodded along. "I just always knew that you would make it on a team, Marcus." She said, resting her chin in her hand. "I know that you were quite nervous about your trials, but I could always sense it whenever I watched you play. You are very talented." She complimented her friend, remembering all of the times she enjoyed watching Slytherin play...and it only had a little bit to do with the uniform!

"I never would have imagined that you would end up working in the Department of Games." Marcus said with a lopsided grin. "I always pegged you as more of a Department of Magical Law Enforcement girl," he said. He always assumed that Hermione only tolerated Quidditch, and could do without every watching a single match in her life. Not to mention that she never seemed to take to flying the way that he expected, unless she was just a passenger on the broom.

She grinned back at him. "Well, it seems as if _everyone_ in my life is determined to be involved with the sport, so it only makes sense that I am as well," she mused with a shrug of her shoulders. "And I do adore working with Daphne, and coordinating with all the other governments, so I am quite suited to it, actually."

They continued their discussion for well after their empty plates were cleared and the checks - two, separate - were settled, enjoying the pleasant weather and company. Hermione for one was surprised by how easy it was to fall back into friendship with Marcus, and it really made her wish that they hadn't mucked it up all those years ago. Who knew where they would be now? But, it did no good to dwell on the past...they could only look to the future, a future she hoped was full of a new friendship.


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows after last chapter! Haha, I know so many of you want to shake them for falling back into their same old miscommunication trap, but I promise that this time it will be a bit more humorous than heartbreaking. Or at least, I hope you think so! You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates, and answer questions.

Please let me know what you thought of chapter twenty-three and be on the lookout for twenty-four soon!

* * *

"Tell me again why we are inviting all these Gryffindors to a match?" Adrian asked Marcus, barely looking up from the newspaper he was reading, lounging across Marcus's couch. "I mean, Granger is alright - her and Daph are close, after all - but Potter and Weasley and Weaslette? Is that really necessary?"

Marcus sighed, running his hand through his black hair, wondering that exact same question. It had been really good to finally clear the air between him and Hermione, and he felt a lot better once he'd apologized for his absolutely atrocious behavior during his second seventh year. He was glad to know that she was willing to give their friendship another chance, especially because he'd always seen her as his best friend while they were at Hogwarts, as odd as that must sound.

But, talking with her for the several hours brought back all kinds of feelings that he wasn't aware were still brewing inside him. She didn't always say the right things, but Hermione was so caring, genuine, and smart, it was hard _not_ to be drawn into her, just like he had been before. It was no secret that he'd been quite attracted to her in his final year of Hogwarts, but her beauty had only matured in the past five years. Her brown hair was just as wild as before, if a bit more wavy rather than bushy. Brown eyes sparkled with a new kind of mischief, and seemed to hold more depth than before, framing a pert nose. During their long talk, he'd been enthralled watching her lips move, when she'd catch the lower one between white teeth, her pink tongue darting out to wet her lip. Her figure had become more womanly, as evidenced by rounded hips hugged in tight muggle jeans. Sleeveless shirt had revealed slim arms and smooth shoulders. Merlin...the fact that he was attracted to fucking _shoulders…_

Clearly, he'd never gotten over her, like he thought he had. The distance had only made him think that he was immune to Hermione Granger, but really, he was still as deep in with her as he'd been before when he thought she was using him for Krum. He'd thought that he was better off without her, but just a few hours with her had proved that he was terribly, terribly wrong.

But, that was an issue wasn't it? Hermione was engaged to Weasley, and so he couldn't be hanging around with all these lingering feelings if he wanted to remain friends with her. And he did, really, want to be friends with her at the very least. She deserved to have a friend who was committed to their friendship, and not willing to throw her away over another man, like he'd done once before with Viktor Krum.

That meant that he would have to make nice with Potter and Weasley at the very least. He didn't have to be friends with them, but his heart needed to get used to seeing Hermione and Weasley together, because...well in December, she would _be_ a Weasley, herself.

"Hermione and I are giving friendship another go." Marcus said with a shrug. "I don't like them either, but I figured I would try to at least be friendly with them to make things a bit easier on her. And, well, it wouldn't be good form to invite a bird, but not invite her fiance. Weasley might think I am trying to scam on his girl." Marcus could feel his cheeks grow hot, because well, that's exactly what he _was_ doing.

Adrian dropped his newspaper, looking at his friend with an arched eyebrow, clearly confused. "Fiance? Whose fiance?"

"Ron Weasley is Hermione's fiance, of course." Marcus said, slinking into the chair across from Adrian.

"Really?" Adrian asked, his body leaning towards Marcus. He had a smirk on his face that Marcus couldn't even begin to understand. "When did they get engaged? This is the first that I am hearing about it."

That was a bit surprising, but maybe they hadn't really announced it yet, or thought that most people must just read the paper. It had only been two weeks after all. "I ran into them at the jewelers, and Weasley said that the pair of them were picking out a ring. I asked Hermione about it, and she said the paper is calling it the Wedding of the Century." Salazar, he could _hear_ the disappointment in his voice, and he just hoped that his friend didn't dig him out if he could tell. He was trying not to be such a pathetic, pining, sod over the girl, but he wasn't having much luck with it.

"Have you picked up your own subscription of the Daily Prophet, Marcus?" Adrian asked him, amusement still clear on his face.

Marcus got the feeling that Adrian knew something that he didn't, which was irritating, but he wasn't about to give his friend the satisfaction of asking him what it was. "You know I don't read that rag." Marcus said with a scowl. "I'd only want it for the Quidditch scores, and I already get those anyway from the league."

"Uh huh," Adrian responded, his toffee colored hair reflecting in the setting sun. "Alright, I will get them passes to the match. It probably is a good idea that you invite all of them, just so you know...Hermione doesn't think that you have any dishonorable attentions towards her. She's a nice girl."

Nodding, Marcus agreed with his friend, glad that he would arrange it. He _hoped_ that Hermione could make it to the match. He'd always liked knowing that she would watch the matches because he was playing, even though she didn't really like the sport. If he had to suffer her friends in order to know that she'd be cheering for _him_ in the stands, well...he thought he could handle it.

* * *

Hermione found the booth that they were all sitting in easily enough, surprised that Marcus had been so generous as to invite her, Harry, Ginny and Ron to his first Quidditch match of the season. It was a lovely gesture to invite her friends, and she hoped that it was a sign of maturity from her burly companion, who previously had hated Ron and Harry. Now that they were all adults, there was no reason why they shouldn't at least give it a chance to get along in group situations. No one said they had to be best friends.

She looked down at her dark gray top, and adjusted her Falmouth scarf around her shoulders, hoping that it was a nice sign of support. She'd thought about purchasing a kit to wear, but Harry told her that it would be absolutely too embarrassing for her to wear one, especially since she didn't know where her...friendship, relationship with Marcus was going, though Ginny had been really keen for her to get one.

Her friends were spotted easily enough, with Ron wearing his garish orange Chudley Cannons jersey acting as a beacon. The trio of them were standing with Daphne and Adrian, drinks in hand. "Hey guys. I'm not late am I?" She questioned, feeling a bit self conscious.

"Just in time, actually." Adrian said, guiding her towards the edge of the box so that she would have a good view. "The player introductions are about to start."

Hermione watched as the players came out one by one, doing a lap around the arena, before touching down on the grass. When Marcus flew by their box, he gave her a broad smile, and she waved back at him shyly. Godric, she'd forgotten just how flattering a Quidditch uniform could be on him. It was hard for her not to be attracted to Marcus, especially with everything she knew about him.

With a whistle, the game started. Ginny and Daphne happily pulled away from the group, eager to talk all about their upcoming weddings, and Daphne giving the younger girl all sorts of suggestions for vendors to use. Harry settled in next to her, his eyes trained on the seeker, and she happily questioned him about if he missed playing the sport. It was hard for Hermione to keep her eyes on anyone but Marcus, who was making a very impressive debut, scoring the most points out of all of the chasers, so she was a bit shocked when the snitch was caught, and the game was over.

She was even more surprised when Marcus, buzzing with energy from the impressive win, flew into their box, dismounting his broom. Hermione crossed the distance between them, wrapping her arms around him to give him a hug in congratulations. Marcus laughed and wrapped one arm around her back. "Sorry, pipsqueak, I am all sweaty."

The thought made Hermione blush, and step back a little bit back. "You were brilliant, Marcus." She congratulated him. "I am sure that Falmouth will be very happy that they traded for you." She complimented him, hoping that she didn't sound like a fawning groupie.

He smiled down at her, gray eyes sweeping up and down her form. Eventually, he pulled on the end of her gray scarf. "We will have to get you a proper Falmouth jersey." He said, before realizing the implications of what he was saying. "I mean...only if you _want_ to come to another game. I wouldn't want to pressure you into it, or expect that you'd want to come even."

Hermione grinned at his awkwardness at the situation. "I would love to come to another game. I'd forgotten how much I enjoy watching you play." She responded with a blush. "And a jersey too, if that's not too...odd."

Before they could talk any further on that, the rest of Hermione's friends huddled around to wish Marcus congratulations, but Adrian asked Ron to hang back so he could chat with him, away from the prying ears of the other Gryffindors and Marcus. Once they were far enough away, Adrian crossed his arms and smirked at Weasley. "So, trouble in paradise, Weasley? Marcus tells me that you and Hermione are _engaged?_ "

Immediately, Weasley's ears turned a bright red color, a telltale sign that he was rather embarrassed. "I didn't say that we were engaged, I said we were looking for an engagement ring. We were helping Harry pick one out for Ginny."

"Yeah, that's what I figured happened." Adrian said with a role of his eyes, wondering just how dense Marcus could be sometimes, but at the same time feeling a bit badly that Weasley was trying to trick him. "So, what the hell are you playing at with it? Don't you know how disappointed your wife _and_ Hermione would be if they knew the kind of trick you were playing?"

"Keep your voice down!" Weasley hissed. "I was just trying to mess with him a little bit." He jutted out his chin. "You don't remember how upset Hermione was after fourth year. She was devastated that Flint thought so little of her, and that was before all of the terrible things that were written about her in the Prophet. I don't want him to think that he can just swoop in and hurt her again."

Adrian made a little noise in the back of his throat, thinking that Hermione's fourth year had ended up terribly bad, the pair of them both being hurt by their own assumptions. He and Weasley looked over to the couple in question, and noticed all the little movements that seemed to suggest that they were obviously attracted to one another. Seeing Hermione grin up at his friend, Adrian did feel a little bad. "They are good together."

"Sure, I suppose." Ron said, with a shrug of his shoulders. "But if he really thinks that Hermione is taken, he's not doing a very good job of not flirting with her." Neither one had missed the way that Marcus seemed to touch her whenever there was an excuse. "Are you going to tell him?"

Adrian took a deep breath, thinking it over. Marcus had just assumed, once again, that Hermione was with someone else. He knew that he should tell Marcus the truth, that Hermione wasn't engaged, but in the end, Adrian decided that Marcus needed to learn from his mistake, and not assume so much. In any case, he was bound to notice that Hermione didn't wear an engagement ring, eventually.

Right?


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! I am a little be behind on the reviewer responses because I went to go watch the eclipse this weekend, but I will get them out today! You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.

Please let me know what you thought of chapter twenty-four and be on the lookout for chapter twenty-five soon!

* * *

"So are we going to talk about the whole Marcus thing?" Harry asked Hermione, before taking a hearty drink from his ale.

Hermione sighed, wondering just why she'd agreed to have lunch with Harry again. Ever since they'd gone to the Quidditch match together, her friend had been pestering her to talk about Marcus, a conversation that she was frankly dreading happening. _Everyone_ wanted to know what was "going on" between her and Marcus, and honestly, Hermione was entirely sure herself.

She'd been pleasantly surprised with how well she and Marcus had clicked back together, but she couldn't shake the memories of their last year at Hogwarts together. She could still remember how much it hurt to have thought that she was dating Marcus the whole time, only to realize that he thought of her as some kind of kid sister friend. Talking to him now, he would tell her that he was insanely jealous at the time, but it had never seemed that way to her.

And now, everyone was asking her if she and Marcus were going to start dating, and well...she just wasn't even sure if that was something she still wanted. Of course, he did make her heart beat a bit faster, just like he'd done before. And, he was so handsome, to her at least. And he was easy to see now why'd they'd been such good friends. But…

She didn't want to get her hopes up. "What do you mean the whole Marcus thing?" She asked, wanting Harry to say what he meant, rather than trying to suss out what he was implying. She definitely didn't have the energy for that today.

"The whole, you and Marcus obviously still have feelings for each other thing." Harry said, rolling his eyes. "Don't even pretend - I was at the Quidditch match too. _Oh Marcus, you played so brilliantly! Hold me!_ " He imitated her voice, making Hermione laugh, despite herself.

"That's _not_ what I was acting like, Harry!" She scolded him, running her finger along the rim of her glass of firewhiskey. "And Marcus and I don't have feelings for each other, beyond just a tentative friendship again. We both agreed that we'd made huge assumptions about the other... _that year_...and are trying to move past it. I will always be upset that _romance_ destroyed my first friendship. I don't want to assume that something is there that isn't. It would be like Hogwarts all over again."

Harry looked at her with his vivid green eyes, trying to sense any change in her facial features, to see if perhaps she wasn't giving him the _full_ truth. "Alright, if you say so. It's just, Ron and I remember how upset you were. Of course I can see it differently now, but at the time it just seemed like the slimy snake had taken advantage of you."

"Marcus isn't a slimy snake, Harry, you know that." Hermione told him with a frown. "We just both made huge assumptions. I assumed that we were dating and he assumed that we weren't." She took a drink of the firewhiskey to help refocus her mind. It wouldn't do any good to cry in front of Harry, but the past did have some unhappy memories. Hermione was trying to move on from that.

"Yeah, you are right. You know if that changes...you can tell me, and no judgement. You are my friend, Hermione, and I am just trying to lookout for you." Harry gave her hand a squeeze.

"Thank you Harry." Hermione responded sincerely. It was good to know that she had someone who was looking out for her. She just hoped that she could remain friends with Marcus after everything that they'd been through. She was amazed by how strong her feelings were for him, despite five years having gone by. She wasn't sure that she _wanted_ to put her heart on the line like that again, even if he did make her feel a bit dizzy with desire, and they hadn't even done more than hug!

"So when are you seeing him next?" Harry asked casually.

"Tomorrow night." Hermione said, finishing off the rest of her drink. "He and I are going to grab a drink after I go check out that florist for Ginny." Hermione had been doing her best to help out her friend with the planning aspect of the wedding, and that meant that she'd visited all sorts of vendors for the girl. Hermione was happy to help out, but she couldn't deny that it could be a little bit exhausting.

"Sounds like a date." Harry said, waggling his eyebrows.

Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "It's not a date, Harry. He and I are both very busy with work and him with training, and just, this was the most convenient option for both of us." Honestly, one minute it seemed like Harry was trying to talk her out of spending time with Marcus, and now it seemed as though he was trying to get her to date him!

"Well, if he tries to kiss you goodnight, don't be surprised." Harry teased. Hermione laughed along with him, trying to ignore the fluttering feeling in her stomach. She wasn't sure _how_ she felt about kissing Marcus, that much was certain.

* * *

Marcus _knew_ that this was a bad idea as soon as he'd gotten to Hermione's department, but he'd come too far to turn back now. He was meant to meet her at the Bottle  & Glass at eight p.m. for drinks, but Adrian told him that she got off work at 5:30, and he hadn't been able to stop himself from coming to see her early, with the bright idea to ask her to dinner too. He just wanted to spend more time with her.

It was a bit silly, but Marcus was absolutely unable to get Hermione out of his head. He'd been unprepared for the wave of feelings that had come over him when he'd had brunch with her. Even though it was a bit masochistic to spend so much time around a girl who was due to be married to another bloke in just a few short months, he couldn't stop himself from clinging to those brief times that he got to spend with her, imagining what could have been. It made him constantly wonder just what was wrong with him all those years ago, and wonder what it would have been like for them now if he hadn't fucked it all up.

Probably not that great, if he was honest, considering the whole war thing, and the fact that his father was so heavily invested in the Dark Lord.

But now Voldemort was dead and Hermione was engaged. There was no point in this kind of hopeless daydreaming of cozy weekends in bed together, or Hermione taking his little sprog to come watch him play Quidditch, traveling to Greece on their anniversary. She was his lost love now.

He found her desk easily enough, and to no surprise, he found Hermione reading through paperwork, taking furious notes, despite the fact that most of her coworkers had already left. It seemed as if she was the only one still working, but Hermione had always been hardworking. Clearing his throat awkwardly, he tried to get her attention.

Her head shot up in surprise, only to have her face dissolve into a soft smile. "Marcus what are you doing here? Merlin, don't tell me its 8 o'clock already?" She asked, appearing a bit bashful. He wondered if that was a common occurance for her.

Shaking his head, he told her that it was just the end of the day. "I know it was a bit presumptious of me, but I got off a bit early today, and I was wondering if you'd like to join me for dinner?" He asked, only to see her smile fall, and her to catch her lower lip between her teeth. "Sorry, I know I should have asked before I just showed up here unannounced."

"No, I would love to have dinner with you, it's just, I am meant to meet with a florist today, to look at flowers for the wedding." Hermione told him, disappointment clear on her face, until she got a great idea. "But, you are welcome to come with me, and then we could head to dinner afterwards." It was the best of both worlds.

Marcus winced at the idea of doing anything involving Hermione's _wedding_ , but he supposed that if it meant spending more time with her, he could put up with it. "Sounds good. How bad can it be?" He asked, waiting for Hermione to gather her things so that they could leave together.

By the time that they'd gotten halfway through all of the floral decorations, Marcus was wondering if it could be much worse. He had never known that there could be quite so many shades of pink roses, and Hermione was _very_ particular about them. He was sure that whatever she picked out would be lovely, but it was just a bit painful to think about the wedding that she was surely planning. "Doesn't Weasley help you out with any of this stuff?" He asked, wondering why her fiance wasn't the one helping her decide if the bouquets would look better with or without baby's breath.

"Ron?" Hermione asked, her eyebrows raised in surprise. When Marcus nodded, Hermione just giggled. "Oh, Ron is utterly hopeless at all of this kind of stuff. I don't think he cares a lick about anything wedding related. Just tell him where to be and when to show up, and he will be there, but otherwise, he can't be arsed."

Marcus didn't really think that it was very supportive of a future husband, but he bit his tongue, not wanting Hermione to think that he was attacking her fiance arbitrarily. Blessedly, they didn't have much more to do, as Hermione made arrangements to send an arrangement to Ginny Weasley. Salazar knew why, but he supposed maybe she wanted a bit of womenly input before she made the final decision.

"Shall we head to dinner now? I think that Bottle & Glass has food there, so we could just head over now." Hermione offered, not wanting to disrupt their original plans too much. Marcus happily agreed, and so they left the florists to apparate to Diagon Alley where the bar was located. It didn't take long for them to get settled with drinks and food ordered.

Before long, they were just chatting like old friends again. It was so odd to know that everything just clicked back into place, despite the fact that he had acted like a total ass. "You know," he started out cautiously enough, "it's times like this that make me sad that I never took you on a proper date while we were at Hogwarts."

He watched as her cheeks became a bright pink color, at she stared down into the foam of her butter beer. He wondered just why he thought it was a good idea to talk about dating her when she was clearly off limits, but he couldn't stop himself from doing it. "You know, that first time we went to Hogsmeade together, in my fourth year? That was just about the best date I've ever been on. Even though it wasn't really one." She revealed to him, giving him a cautious smile.

Marcus took a big drink out of his firewhiskey, and hoped that she didn't notice the wince that he made. Oh, if only he hadn't been so insecure back then. It was almost ridiculous how much he regretted the past, and now, there was nothing that he could do about it. He wasn't even sure what he should say in response to what Hermione revealed to him. "Well, I was always a bit blind to what was right in front of me."

Hermione nodded, before clearing her throat, and changing the subject. Obviously it was still something that they weren't ready to handle in their relationship yet. With their discussion firmly on his family estate, and all that he was working through after his father's death during the war, they quickly found themselves at the end of their drinks. "Well, Marcus, I think I have to call it a night. Early day tomorrow." She told him, regretfully.

He nodded, knowing that he had early training ahead of their big game that weekend, against Puddlemere United, the league leaders. "I can walk you home." He offered. "It's such a nice night."

She gave him a little smile. "That would be lovely, Marcus, thank you!" She said brightly, wrapping her arm around his middle so that they could walk along the cobbled street together. It was almost painful to feel the heat of her pressed against him, but if he tried hard, Marcus could pretend as though Hermione really was his girl again.


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! This story has only two chapters left, and an epilogue (for a total of 27), so all of this drama and misunderstanding is about to come to a head. You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates, and answer questions.

Please let me know what you thought of chapter twenty-five and be on the lookout for chapter twenty-six soon!

* * *

Once they arrived at the door to Hermione's flat, it seemed as if neither Marcus nor Hermione wanted the evening to be over. He wasn't sure how long they'd stayed standing in front of the door, Hermione playing with her keys, and Marcus leaning his hand against the frame, leaning _into_ Hermione unconsciously.

If he didn't know any better he would think that Hermione was _flirting_ with him, and his mind was easily taken back to all those times that he had with her in the in their secret room at Hogwarts. He remembered how wonderful her lips felt against his, or the way that she would sigh and moan when he would kiss his way down her neck. He remembered the way she would press into him when he would lightly cup her breast. He wouldn't even let his brain wander to the memory of how hot and wet she felt around his fingers for fear that his cock would become a little _too_ insistent in its desire to be near her.

He wasn't sure if he was just a bit tipsy from the firewhiskey that he'd drank at dinner, or if it was just the haze of the memories, but before he could think on it too hard, he had made the decision to kiss her. One hand pushed her hair out of her face, his thumb cupping her jaw, tilting her head just so, he leaned into her, relishing her parted lips and eyelids closing.

The first touch of their lips together was electric, and Marcus was overcome with the feeling that this was _right_. She fit against him, like a puzzle piece, and it was nearly a sin for him to _not_ try and deepen the kiss. Greedy, he pressed into her, his tongue running along her's, sending darts of pleasure behind his eyelids. Salazar, why had he ever pissed this away? He could have stayed there forever, taking his time to worship Hermione, but eventually, he had to pull away for air.

He pressed his forehead against her's, their breaths mingling together, and he hoped…

Before he could even comprehend that he'd just _snogged_ Hermione Granger once again, she was pulling away, bright blush on her cheeks. She refused to look him in the eye. "Marcus, I'm sorry, but...I can't." She said, her voice taking on a whine, as though it hurt her to do this. "I just...it's not a good idea." She continued.

It was as if his heart was in a vice, squeezing painfully, and the reality of the situation came running back to him. _Of course_ she couldn't kiss him, she was bloody engaged to another man! Really, he was surprised that she'd kissed him back at all, but he supposed that she would chalk it up to surprise. Salazar, if only he'd thought about it properly, he wouldn't have made such a huge fool of himself and practically thrown himself at her. Now, he was certain that he'd ruined any chance of friendship with her, just because he'd let himself get sucked into her once again.

Feeling stupid, and more than a bit embarrassed, Marcus pulled away, nodding, not trusting his voice to speak, because he was likely to do something stupid like cry in front of her. He could feel the prickles of tears at the corner of his eyes, and decided to leave, not wanting to prolong the inevitable any longer than necessary. He apparated away.

* * *

When Marcus had called in to miss Quidditch practice for being "sick" after having dinner with Hermione Granger, he'd been curious if perhaps they'd finally had a shag, and were now playing hooky so as not to leave the presence of their lover's arms. He'd decided to pay Daphne a visit, good fiance that he was, but was surprised to find Hermione _was_ in the office, not looking well-shagged at all. In fact, she looked as if she were losing sleep. When he asked her how her date was with Marcus, she'd given him a pained look and begged him not to tease.

 _That_ had made him suspicious, and he began to seriously question his friend's absence from the Quidditch pitch.

After he called in a second day, he started to get seriously concerned. Adrian tried Floo calling Marcus, but was unable to get an answer from the empty living room. Still, the connection was open, so Adrian decided that it was time to walk through. Yes, it was a bit forward of him, but at this point her was worried about the safety of his friend, and decided it was better to ask forgiveness later, just in case Marcus needed him.

A quick perusal of the flat showed that he wasn't in any of the main living areas, leaving only Marcus's bedroom as an option. Throwing the door open, he found Marcus lying in his bed, all the curtains drawn, despite it being a very lovely day. "Oi, Flint, what's this I hear about you being sick? You've never been sick from Quidditch in your life." Adrian tried to joke, hoping that his friend wouldn't mind being intruded on. "Come on, it's Puddlemere on Sunday."

"Oh piss off Adrian, and leave me alone." Marcus grumbled from his pit in the bed, not inclined to give his _guest_ a proper welcome. "I _am_ sick."

Adrian didn't take any offense to the less than friendly admonishment from his large friend, instead using his wand to open the curtains, letting some natural light into the room. "Hmm, you don't look very sick to me?" Adrian leered at him, all cuddled up in bed. Marcus had his arms around a pillow, resting his head on it as though it were a partner, curled up on his side.

Marcus glared at him from his spot, his eyes red rimmed, leading Adrian to rethinks. "Alright, so I'm not _sick_." Marcus agreed, before sighing, his shoulders deflating, as if the fight was leaving him. "Just depressed."

That was certainly a surprise to hear. There was almost never any admission of anything that might make you appear weak in Slytherin house, so for Marcus to just blurt it out that way lead Adrian to believe that his friend was seriously hurting. "Depressed? What do you have to be depressed about. You've got a great job, great friends, you just reconnected with Hermione and it's going smashingly."

"That's the one." Marcus said. "Hermione. I bloody well fucked up with her. I just couldn't help myself and I kissed her and she told me that we couldn't, which, well, we obviously can't because she's going to get married to that tosser Weasley, and now, well, she's not even going to want me to be friends with her, because she thinks I just think of her for sex, just like last time."

Adrian winced at the mention of Hermione's imaginary nuptials, but he also got the impression that there was much more to this story than he knew. "Start at the beginning Marcus. You said again...does this have something to do with Hogwarts?" He sat down on the corner of the bed so that he could look at Marcus properly. "You never told me what happened there. Just one minute I thought you were dating Granger and the next minute you were bringing Bell to the Ball."

Marcus narrowed his eyes at him. "You never asked." He groused.

"Figured you'd open up to me when you were ready." Adrian responded with a shrug of his shoulders. Marcus really did have a difficult time opening up to people, though, and he obviously needed to get some things off his chest. "I think now is as good a time as ever, though, so start talking." He figured it would be easier for Marcus to comply if it was seen as an order rather than a spontaneous admission.

The chaser rolled over onto his back, running his hand down his face. "By the summer before her fourth year, I really started to _notice_ Hermione, you know? She was so pretty, and really by accident I found myself fancying her. I thought she might too, but then I noticed her in the library with Krum. She was laughing with him, and I figured she must like him." His voice was getting a bit stronger the longer he spoke about his time with Hermione. "Imagine my surprise when she asked me to give her her first kiss. I was over the moon, until I remembered Krum, and I figured that she was just using me as practice."

"But she never said she was using you as practice?" Adrian questioned, wondering how his friend could be so colossally stupid.

"No, she never said it out loud. Anyway, we went a little further and a little further, and next thing I heard was that she had a date to the Yule Ball, and I figured, I knew it was the end of our little...experiment, and I asked Bell out. To save face mostly." Marcus continued, even though it was painful to remember that part of his life.

"How far did you get with her?" Adrian asked, waggling his eyebrows. Just because he was being a supportive friend didn't mean he didn't want gossip. "All the way?"

"No, of course not!" Marcus said, his cheeks definitely going a bit pink, discussing the particulars with his friend. It didn't feel right to give any details more than the bare minimum. I mean...we went pretty far. Below the belt." He cleared his throat. "I thought it was just practice the whole time, but according to Hermione she thought that we were dating the whole time. Salazar, I accused her of using me, but that must be exactly how she felt when I told her that I was going to the Yule Ball with Bell, after we'd..." He trailed off, remembering that he wanted to give Hermione a little respect by not oversharing. "Anyway, you know the rest after that. Shouting matches in the hallways. Me moving the Belgium to try and forget her."

"Wow, mate, you seriously fucked that up." Adrian said, shaking his head at his friend, astonished by all of the assumptions he'd made about Hermione. How he'd ever thought that a Gryffindor would so callously use someone, especially someone like Granger was beyond him. It was clear that Marcus was still in a right state about it. He was almost too emotionally invested, making Adrian a bit suspicious. "But you really never fucked her?"

Marcus growled. "Course not." He wouldn't lie about something like that. Then he frowned, his eyes trained on his pillow, his voice softening, "but I would have done anything for her." He revealed, knowing that it was a weakness for him to be revealing something like this to Adrian, knowing that the other Slytherin could use it against him if he wanted.

"Sounds like you love her." Adrian grinned at Marcus, thinking that it was actually rather sweet how worked up he was over puny little Hermione Granger. The fact that the woman could reduce him to this simpering mess was quite astonishing. Previously, he didn't really think that anything could hurt Marcus.

"Yeah, I'm just realizing now that I do." Marcus admitted, staring up at the ceiling, before pressing his eyelids shut tight, obviously regretting the way that everything played out, thinking that his chance to be with the girl of his dreams was slipping away.

"Listen mate, you need to tell her how you feel." Adrian started, wanting to give his friend some sage advice. After all, he'd bagged Daphne Greengrass, so it wasn't as if he did poorly with the ladies. And, he felt a _little_ bit bad about suggesting that Granger was getting married...well, not suggesting it, just not correcting him. But, it was all Marcus's assumptions that had got him in this state, so he was going to have to confront them head on if this is what he wanted. "All this time, you've been making assumptions about how she feels, without ever really finding out what she wants."

"But she's getting married." Marcus whined, sitting up in his bed, hating his friend in that moment. Couldn't he just leave and let him wallow in peace the fact that girl of his dreams, really, the only woman he'd ever loved in his whole life, was slipping through his fingers once again?

"So what?" Adrian questioned, knowing that he needed to rally the troops, so to speak. Using his wand, he lifted the comforter off of Marcus, letting the cool air of the flat shock him into action. "You will never truly know how she really feels unless you try. Be a man for _once_ and put yourself out on the line. Go after her if you love her because…" Adrian trailed off, trying to pick the right words, seeing a change come over his friend, "you might never get another chance."

That was what seemed to make up his mind, and before Adrian knew it, Marcus was hopping up, determination in his eyes. "Okay, I am going to do it!" Perhaps it was the memory of the five lonely years that he'd spent trying to forget Hermione existed, or the memory of her lips, but he had never been more sure of something in his life.

"Hold up, there, Romeo." Adrian stopped him with a smirk, before turning him towards the bathroom. "You need a shower and some food first. Merlin, have you not bathed for three whole days and you want to go profess your love to Hermione? No, you into the shower now. I will find you something to eat." Adrian shooed him into the bathroom with a smirk, not able to throw one last quip his way. "And don't forget to brush your teeth! Granger's not going to want to snog you if you have morning breath."

With Marcus in the shower, Adrian went to the kitchen, laughing to himself. Merlin, he was just glad that he wasn't needing to sober up. Marcus wasn't hung over, because he took his training so seriously, even when taking a sick day. Only Marcus would wallow in heartbreak without the use of alcohol.


	26. Chapter 26

A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! I know some of you can't believe that Adrian still didn't tell Marcus, but honestly, that man just needs to face his fears of rejection head on so that they can move past this silly game that they keep playing! I am really really proud of this chapter and I have been on the edge of my seat waiting to post it to see what you guys think. I hope you enjoy it! You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates, and answer questions.

Please let me know what you thought of chapter twenty-six and be on the lookout for the epilogue soon!

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Ever since Marcus had kissed her again, Hermione hadn't been able to stop thinking about him. She wanted him, yes, more than anything, but she didn't know if she could go through all the pain again of thinking that they were dating when they weren't. She didn't know what Marcus wanted from her, but she knew well enough that she wasn't just going to be friends with benefits. It wasn't worth messing up their fledgling friendship.

She had been so stunned, realizing Harry's words had come true, that she hadn't been able to properly explain why she was holding back. She was positive that she'd jumbled it horribly, not having missed the hurt look on Marcus's face before his disapparated away.

In the ensuing days, there had been several times where she'd tried to write him, to explain what it was that she was feeling, but she'd left all of them in the trash, unhappy with all of them. On the one hand, she didn't even feel like she should be apologizing to him for the way that she was feeling. Eventually, they would have to come face to face again, and Hermione hoped that they could work past it sooner rather than later.

A flash of lightning followed by a bang of thunder had Crookshanks yowling. "Oh Crooks, it's just thunder." She scolded, though standing to shut the partially open window. It was really coming down outside, and she was glad that she'd declined Harry and Ron's invitation to meet her out at the pub, though she would never admit to them that it was because she was still feeling so jumbled up about her feelings for Marcus.

Just as she was about to return to her spot on the couch, with her book, she was surprised by a knock on the door. "Well, just who could that be?" She wondered aloud, but stood anyway, to answer the door. She was surprised to see Marcus standing in her door frame, standing there soaking wet. "Marcus! What are you doing here? You're all wet."

Marcus smirked at her. "Yeah, well, stood out here for a while trying to get the courage to knock." It was easy for him to feel full of confidence when he'd been talking with Adrian, but once he'd actually gotten to Hermione's, he stood at the door wondering what the bloody hell he was doing here. This was either going to be the worst decision of his life, or the best, but Adrian was right. He couldn't just go on wondering for what Hermione thought of him, and he couldn't find out until he asked her.

He crossed the threshold, even though he hadn't been invited. "Please don't marry Weasley, Hermione." She tried to talk, but he held a hand up. "No, please let me finish, Hermione, I don't think I'll ever get this out if I stop now." He took a deep breath. "Please don't marry Weasley. I just realized that I love you - I always have, even back when we were at Hogwarts, and I was just too dense to realize it. I let you go then, because I was so jealous, but I am _not_ going to let you slip away again just because I was too afraid to tell you."

Hermione stood in stunned silence, not even sure of what to say, but one thing was the most important. "You think that Ronald and I are getting married?" She asked, her voice sounding a bit hysterical.

"Well, yeah, you were picking out a ring, and then the wedding is in December, I went with you when we picked out flowers and...wedding of the century and all that." He concluded, stuffing his hands in his pockets in nervousness.

"Ron and I aren't getting married - he's happily married to Susan Bones. They are expecting a child." Hermione revealed, sounding a bit stunned. "Harry and Ginny are getting married."

Marcus felt his heartbeat pound against his ribcage, and for the first time in years, he felt real _hope_ that Hermione and him could actually make it work. "Well, in that case…" He closed the gap between them, his hands delving into her wild hair, and pulling her close for a kiss that he'd been dreaming of.

Only to have Hermione push him away with her hands. "No!" She shouted, and he could see that her eyes were full of tears. "You can't just show up after what you did five years ago. You assumed that Ron and I were getting married, and...it's just like with Viktor all over again. You can't just get my hopes up again, my heart can't take it."

For a moment, Marcus wanted to run away and hide, seeing her words as rejection and rejection alone. But then, he took a moment to really _listen_ to what she had to say. Remembered that she had thought they were dating once before and he hadn't been able to believe it. Hermione wouldn't use him, and she wouldn't hurt him on purpose. He needed to prove to her that he wouldn't hurt her either.

"I know it may seem sudden." He blurted out. "I was so mad that year, mad that you had chosen someone who I saw as fitter and better and more famous than I was...I couldn't measure up to him, and I wanted to move as far away from England as possible to forget you. But, as soon as I saw you again, I realized that...my feelings for you never changed. I love you, Hermione, please let me prove it to you. Please let me make up for all the time that I wasted being a complete idiot."

She looked at him with watery eyes, her brown eyes reflecting the dim light of the room. Hermione caught her lower lip between her teeth, obviously going through some turmoil. "I don't know what to say Marcus." She finally croaked. "I _want_ to be with you, but I don't know...I don't want to get hurt again."

"I'm so sorry that I ever hurt you." Marcus said with complete honesty, feeling like an arse for ever making Hermione doubt herself. For ever accusing her of the horrid things that he did when they were still in school. "Please, if you just give me a chance, I will spend the rest of my days showing you that your faith is well kept in me."

Hermione laughed, unbidden. "The rest of your days, Marcus? That's a rather long time. It almost sounds like…" Her cheeks reddened, the unspoken word _marriage_ better left unsaid for the moment, as this truce between them was still too new for any such suggestion. Though, Marcus couldn't pretend that it hadn't crossed his mind.

"If you agree to have me, I don't plan on ever letting you go." He told her truthfully, feeling his shoulders droop a bit, beginning to feel as though this wasn't going to go his way. As the silence stretched on, Marcus nodded, ready to leave the apartment. Of course, it wasn't the outcome that he wanted, but he _did_ feel better knowing where he stood, rather than just leaving it unknown. "I...it's alright, I can just leave." He dropped his eyes to his shoes, not wanting Hermione to have to put her rejection into words.

"Oh, you big _brute!_ " Hermione teased. "Where you really going to give up on me that quickly?" She stepped into him again, wrapping her arms around his middle and letting her head rest against his chest, not caring that he was still sopping wet. "I didn't realize it then, but I love you, too Marcus. I felt too young at the time to really know, but, Godric, for some reason...I care for you so deeply. I only ever wanted to be with you."

Marcus used his forefinger to cautiously tilt her head to look at him. His eyes drank in each and every emotion on her face, looking for any sense of hesitation or uncertainty, before dipping his neck to capture her lips in a kiss, gentle and slow. In a way, it reminded him of their first kiss, in terms of its timidity. And just like the first time, Hermione was the one to deepen it.

Throwing her hands around his neck, her fingers played a familiar game with the short hairs at the nape of his neck, pulling her to him more firmly. Her lips parted in a breathy sigh, her tongue boldly slipping against his while she found herself acquainted with his mouth. It had sent desire pulsing through every inch of his body, most noticeably, though, his cock which was proudly twitching against the zip of his trousers. Hermione had certainly noticed, and pressed against him more firmly, grinding against him, and leaving him a moaning mess.

The kiss took on a new urgency, and before he even realized that he was doing it, Marcus was lifting her, encouraging her to wrap her legs around his trim waist. Confidently, he strode towards the door off of her living room, only to find a small powder room. Hermione dissolved into a fit of giggles, breaking the kiss. "My room is that way." She told him, pointing to the opposite side of the room.

Marcus gave her a playful swat on the arse, but reversed course, heading for her bedroom. Hermione seemed determined to distract him as much as possible, though, and began pressing hot kisses to his neck, sucking the skin before soothing it with her tongue, and he quickly realized that she was trying to mark him. He was sure to have several hickeys by the time the night was over. He felt himself swell with pride that she wanted to mark him as _hers._

He doesn't have time to look around her room before they are crashing down against the bed, Hermione cradling him between her legs. Marcus would have been content to just kiss her for hours, until they both drifted to sleep, but there is no way he is going to argue when she hooks her hands under the wet fabric of his shirt that has been clinging to his skin, lifting it up over his head and leaving him bare to her greedy eyes. He's broader now than he was at eighteen, the muscle that covers his chest more purposeful, and the dark hair that had once just been a smattering against his chest, now a bit more abundant.

He's always felt a bit self conscious, but one look from Hermione's eyes and he can see the desire, the lust reflected there. Wanting to see her as well, he uses his fingers to deftly open buttons holding her shirt together, revealing bare skin. He tries to push it back over her shoulders, only to be thwarted by her laying on her back. She laughs when he growls in frustration, before using her spell to divest them of their clothing, down to their underwear.

Marcus sucks in his breath when he sees her breasts bared to him once again, soft mounds tipped with tight pink nipples. Hermione is definitely on the smaller side, but they fit her frame perfectly. Shyly, she smiles up at him, before reaching her arms around his neck to pull him in for another kiss, this one more sensuous than the first, moaning when his chest rubs against her breasts. She wraps her legs around his waist once again, and he swears he can feel the searing heat of her sex behind the two layers of fabric separating him.

He kissed down her body, his lips easily capturing one nipple while he used his hand to knead and pinch the neglected breast. He delighted in the sounds that he could pull from her lips, and the feel of her hands on his back. Eventually, he kissed his way further down, until his lips were meeting the top of her knickers, and they were edging on unfamiliar territory. He looked up at her, blue eyes intense, giving her a moment to agree to what he wanted to do next. She rolled her hips and gave a nod, his fingers pulling her knickers down her legs.

As he sat between her legs, he used a finger to run up her seam, hissing at how _wet_ she felt, knowing that it was all for him. He swelled with pride, and let his finger dip inside her slit, up to his second knuckle, feeling her clench around him. Merlin, she looked so beautiful stretched out like that for him, and he told her so, blushing at his less than elegant words. "You look so bloody hot."

Biting her lower lip, Hermione batted his hand away from her. "Please Marcus, we will have more time to explore later, but I want you now." Sitting up, she pushed him over so that he was lying on his back against the pillows, as he was too shocked to do anything but agree with her. She pulled his boxer briefs down his own legs, before moving to sit astride him. Gripping him with her hand, he hissed, unprepared for how good such a measly touch would feel. He could feel his breath stop when she pressed the tip of his cock against her wet slit, sliding down until they were completely joined.

Hermione gave him a well satisfied smile when she pressed her hands to his shoulders and took a moment to adjust. Marcus was glad for it as well, seeing as he was hanging on by a thread, and he didn't want to embarrass himself the first time he and Hermione had sex, especially considering that he'd only just gotten her to forgive him.

It was different this time than their first tentative explorations in their secret little room. No longer were they learning what they liked, each of them with a bit more practice and experience, focused more on learning what the other one liked. Hermione rocked her hips against him, dropping her head back with a sigh, wild hair cascading down her back and her breasts pressed invitingly forward to him. She was a goddess. She moved again, quickly finding a rhythm that they both could enjoy. Marcus grabbed her by the hips, and encouraged her movements, up and down, over and over again, until he knew he was close. He wanted her to come with him, though.

Moving his hand, he pressed his thumb against the bud at the top of her sex, sending a thrill of pleasure through Hermione based on the way that she gasped his name. He looked up at her face, needing her to come, and watched as her eyebrows drew together in concentration, completely focused on the act of their joining.

The feeling of her coming around him was enough to send him mad. She felt better than anything he could have imagined, in no small part because it was her. _Hermione._ Knowing he could let go, be grabbed her hips a bit harder, pulling her down on him whilst he pistoned into her a bit harder, loving the final moans that he could pull from her throat before he finally followed her over the edge. His vision went white, until his body was a quivering mess of pleasure and masculine pride.

Slowly, he came back down to himself, and realized that Hermione was lying on top of him, her head pressed to his chest, hand over his wildly beating heart. He ran his fingers through her tangled hair, slowly working his way to the ends, while he thought that he didn't remember ever being quite so content in his whole life. When he thought that he might have let this slip through his fingers once again, had it not been for Adrian's pep talk...

Marcus started chuckling. "Oh, I am going to _murder_ Adrian." He said, his deep voice rumbling in his chest. All Hermione could muster was a sleepy noise of confusion. "He _knew_ that I thought you were getting married to Weasley, but he never even tried to correct me once! He made me look like a right goon."

Hermione laughed at that. "Ron too, then. I guarantee you that he knew what he was doing." There was no doubt in her mind that her redheaded friend had known exactly the conclusions that Marcus was likely to jump to. "Still, I'm glad for it. I guess it got you to finally open up to me about your feelings."

"I suppose it did." Marcus agreed, knowing that he probably never would have told her otherwise. Now, his new life in England was full of possibilities.

"And it was terribly romantic, you bursting in here, soaked to the bone." Hermione said a bit wistfully. "But, let's sleep now. I think I promised you more exploration in the future." She reminded him, patting him on the chest, before moving the pull the covers up, snuggling into his side.


	27. Chapter 27

A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! Honestly, the support on this story was wonderful, and I am so glad that you all enjoyed this rare pairing, seeing as it is also one of my favorites. This is the end of it, which I am always sad to let things go. I am working an a muggle au Tomione right now, so you can go check that out, and I am also working on some spooky Halloween bits for October, so please check back for those too. As always, you can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.

Please let me know what you thought of the epilogue!

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"I don't ever want to go back," Marcus whispered, kissing the bare skin between her shoulder blades, using his arm to pull Hermione back to him. "Let's just move here," he tried to convince her, enjoying the way that gooseflesh popped up wherever he kissed her.

Hermione chuckled into his skin, before attempting to get up once again. "Marcus, you just never want to leave the bed," she rolled her eyes, but could agree that their month long honeymoon stay in the Greek Isles had been exceptionally lovely. "You have training starting next week, and I have to return to work."

"Fuck work," he said with a cheeky whisper.

"Oh, are you saying you want to give up playing Quidditch?" Hermione asked smartly. Although she would never dream of asking Marcus to give up his job, knowing how much he loved the sport, she couldn't pretend as though she wasn't dreadfully fearful for his safety every time he went out on the pitch. Though, the uniforms were nice. "It will be fine. I will still be there when we get back to England, and our bed will be too."

Despite only being a bit more than a year since Marcus had returned to England, he somehow found himself married to Hermione, a girl he never expected to see again after he'd left Hogwarts. When he thought about all the times he almost lost her for good because of his low self-esteem, he was glad that he made the right choice to finally open up to her.

It was no surprise to any of their friends when Hermione and Marcus had emerged from her flat the year prior that they were an item. Marcus played his best game ever against Puddlemere United, knowing that Hermione, his girlfriend, was watching from the boxes. Adrian had tried to congratulate them after the game, only to be informed that he had some serious explaining to do. He let Hermione sort out Weasley, but he never asked her what specifically had happened.

Her friends were quick to warm up to the relationship, seeing how happy it made Hermione, and perhaps how serious Marcus was about her. While he had previously been so positive that she couldn't like him as more than friends because of his poor self-esteem, that had quickly changed once they had started dating officially, although it did take time. His low self confidence quickly morphed into an odd kind of possessiveness that Hermione thought was rather charming. He didn't get overtly jealous of her talking to other men, but he did have the habit of leaving little love bites on her neck, just in case she forget that she was his. She didn't mind, knowing the thrill that she got from seeing her own marks left on him.

That wasn't to say that their relationship was perfect. Marcus did have a difficult time expressing his feelings at the beginning, but with Hermione's patient encouragement and her own openness, he got better at sharing the things he was feeling. He was hoping that they could keep the assumptions to a minimum now that he knew Hermione was just as crazy about him as she was about her. Not only that, but they had other issues to work through, like his lingering anger for his dead father, and some of Hermione's memories of the war. Talking to each other helped each of them move on in their own way.

Their relationship progressed, quietly and confidently, out of the public eye. Marcus once commented to her about their lack of media coverage, seeing as many other members of the Quidditch community had it much worse, and Hermione had just given him a wry smile, telling him that she had personal history with Rita Skeeter, whatever that meant.

They attended Adrian and Daphne's wedding together announcing their relationship to the broader wizarding world, and got some mixed reactions. Unfortunately, there were still a few old pureblood holdouts, even after the war, who looked down on Marcus for being a blood traitor and Hermione for being a mudblood who was ending one of the last pureblood houses by dating Marcus. Marcus never saw much sense in it to begin with, having set any dreams about him being better than Hermione just because of who he was born to. She was better than him in just about every metric that he could think of.

Their autumn had been a busy one. Marcus was playing for a Falmouth team that was in the title race for the first time in nearly sixty years, and his couch was even impressed with his improved skill from over the summer. Marcus figured having Hermione believe in him was probably the reason for it. Hermione was kept busy with the Weasleys. First it was Ginny Weasley who was not afraid to ask for Hermione's prodigious planning skills. Then it was with Ronald (who she'd finally forgiven a few weeks after she joyfully reunited with Marcus) and Susan Weasley who welcomed a son in the middle of November, a boy called Edgar, of whom Hermione was godmother.

It was around that time that Marcus thought seriously about proposing. He knew that it was a bit sudden, seeing as they'd only been dating for a few short months, but Marcus knew that there was no one else for him but Hermione. There never had been. She completed his life in a way that he didn't even know he needed.

She'd been helping him clear out his ancestral home, and locating some of his mother's things that he rather liked and wanted preserved, while destroying most of his father's leftover items, when he realized he wanted nothing more than to have him as his wife. After that, it hadn't taken him long to find a diamond and opal ring that had belonged to his mother to propose to her with. He'd sweat over how to ask her with Adrian for a week, before deciding just to ask her while they were out for a walk on the grounds. "I have so many memories from growing up here, almost all of them negative. But, I'd love to make new, happier ones with you, if you'll have me. Hermione, will you marry me?"

Hermione had been all tears and smiles, and eagerly agreed to the proposal, placing the ring on her hand and sealing it with a kiss.

By the time that the Potters officially tied the knot, both Hermione and Marcus agreed that it a big elaborate wedding was not for them. Hermione told him she didn't care where they got married, just that they were married.

Waiting an acceptable amount of time to show the public (well, more like her friends) that she was not expecting a child, they asked a few close friends to meet them at the Ministry's offices, where Hermione wore a smart white dress and he wore polished but casual robes, to oversee their union. The whole thing took less than a half an hour, and they all went for dinner afterwards, enjoying champagne and cake. Weasley and Potter had taken him aside to say that they might have forgiven him, but they would never forget the way he'd hurt her previously, and if he ever tried something like that again, they wouldn't hesitate to step in.

Marcus was still floating from the thought that he was looking at Mrs. Hermione Flint and the knowledge that in twenty more minutes they would be whisked off to the Continent for their honeymoon, he hadn't paid them much mind.

But now, their month long honeymoon was over. It had involved a lot of exploring ancient sites and museums, laying out on the beaches, exploring just how tan Hermione could get, inspecting her for new sunkissed freckles, even a Quidditch match, and of course, lots of mind blowing sex. He was infinitely glad that they had agreed to put all the money they would have spent on the wedding towards the fabulous vacation. He was not so happy that they had to leave.

It would be hard to leave their little slice of paradise, but Hermione was right. She would still be there in England, and that was what he was really enjoying. Getting to spend time with her for the rest of their lives, maybe even have a kid or two along the way. He couldn't believe that he'd ever thought that he wasn't sad to leave her back at Hogwarts, to think that he was better off without her.

Now he knew without a doubt that he'd just been pretending the whole time. She was his pipsqueak, and he was her brute.


End file.
